


Curse in Reverse

by Killjoy_Linnea



Series: Curse in Reverse [1]
Category: Pierce the Veil, Sleeping With Sirens
Genre: Alternate Universe - Gang World, Fluff and Angst, Gang AU, Gangleader!Vic, M/M, Mental Health Issues, Runaway!Kellin, i am so bad at this forgive me, kellin is a bit broken but vic tries to fix it, kind of, there might be some mike/tony later
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-02-11
Updated: 2015-08-01
Packaged: 2018-03-11 22:22:37
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 22
Words: 59,696
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3334922
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Killjoy_Linnea/pseuds/Killjoy_Linnea
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Kellin escapes from home and gets on a very long bus ride across the country with only a bag of clothes, his phone and his friend's promise that he knows people who will keep him safe at his destination - San Diego.</p><p>Victor Fuentes decides to harbour a runaway in his own safe-house and ends up wondering if he's gonna have to regret it.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Woho! Welcome onboard the crazy-train. Don't kill me for this fic.  
> \- I consider the people I use for inspiration to be fictional characters in this work and this is in no way connected to them. -  
> Enjooooy!

“We’re in San Diego now, honey,” the kind, old woman said gently. Kellin looked up at her briefly and nodded. She smiled to him and he couldn’t help but smile back at her. She had been keeping an eye on him for the entire trip and he was grateful for her ability to sense when to talk and when to be quiet. Kellin grabbed his bag from the shelf above his seat and put on his sunglasses as he started to make his way down aisle of the bus. As soon as he stepped off he felt the heat hitting him like a wall. It was sunny and early in the evening. Kellin had been on the bus for a long time and was thankful for the opportunity to stretch his legs. The station building was standing behind him and before him was only parking lots. He decided to stay where he were, waiting for whoever was supposed to meet him. Kellin had gotten on the bus eight hours ago with only one bag of clothes, his cellphone and his friend Justin’s promise of having one of his friends come get him at the station in San Diego and keep him safe for a while. He grunted a bit as the realization of what he had done sank in. He had left everything behind and run for his life. It was necessary, the cuts along the right side of his face was still stinging and the gash in his lip were sore. The warmth was not really helping Kellin’s condition. It was luring out a headache he thought he had managed to get rid of a few hours earlier with the help of some painkillers. A lot of people was on the move around him, now and then someone accidentally walked into his shoulder. Kellin had just started contemplating moving inside the big station to get away the sun when a black, polished car pulled up next to him. Out from the driver’s side stepped a tall, muscular guy with what Kellin guessed was Mexican roots. He had spikey black hair and a happy smile. His eyes looked kind and Kellin got the impression of a good-hearted personality.

“Kellin Quinn?” the guy asked as he walked up to Kellin.

“That’s me,” Kellin answered and held his hand out.

“I’m Jaime Preciado, sorry that I’m a bit late,” the guy rambled and shook Kellin’s hand. Kellin saw the slight shock and concern I the other boy’s eyes and sighed.

“Are you alright?” Jaime asked, gesturing to Kellin’s face. Kellin knew he must look like a train-wreck and only raised his eyebrow in reply.

“Oh. Right. Sorry. Stupid question,” Jaime mumbled. He looked down at a watch he wore on his left wrist. “Oh damn. We better get going. Let me take your bag.”

Kellin warily handed his bag over to Jaime and sat down in the passenger seat, leaning his head back. His eyes were practically falling shut against his will. He had been awake for a long time. He was glad he was wearing his sunglasses, which hid a bit of the injuries and his apparent lack of sleep. He didn’t even want to think about how he looked. Jaime threw the bag in the backseat and then jumped in behind the wheel. The engine started with a satisfactory roar.

“I talked to Justin on my way here and he told me to tell you not to call him,” Jaime stated, send a curious glance in Kellin’s direction. Kellin turned to him.

“What? Why?”

“Something about phone records?” Jaime said. “He wasn’t specific and I was in a hurry.”

“Oh…” Kellin exclaimed as realization sunk in. “Yeah. Yeah, I get what he means. Thanks for passing it on.”

“No problem… You tired?” Jaime wondered.

“Yeah,” Kellin said shortly, not wanting to discuss himself anymore. “So, where are we going? Must say this feels a bit weird, even though Justin said it’ll be fine.”

Jaime smiled. “Understandable. You must have a lot of faith in Justin or…”

“Or?” Kellin urged him on.

“Or, be really desperate,” Jaime mumbled, probably knowing it wasn’t really appropriate to speculate.

“A bit of both,” Kellin offered, sending a reassuring smile Jaime’s way. Jaime nodded and checked the rearview mirror. They spent the rest of the trip in silence, but it didn’t feel awkward, just… unsure. Kellin leaned back and let the cooled air from the vents in the car make the headache crawl back from where it had come from.  
“Well. My friends have a house and you’ll be safe there. I’ve already checked with them and it’s okay that you stay there for a while,” Jaime answered, looking left and right before making a turn. Kellin just nodded in response. He trusted Justin to know how to pick his friends, and the kind expression Jaime was wearing made Kellin’s nerves calm down considerably. At least enough for him to finally drift off into a brief sleep.

 -

Someone was shaking him. With a gasp Kellin’s eyes shot open and he automatically threw himself away from the other person’s touch. His back hit the car door and he groaned of pain. Jaime was staring at him, having pulled back his hand as if he had been burned. Kellin sighed of relief.

“Sorry,” Jaime said, sounding insecure. “Didn’t mean to scare you.”

Kellin said nothing, just leaned back and took a few deep breath to try to calm his racing heart.

“We’re here now,” Jaime stated opened the door on his side.

Kellin looked out the window and realized that “here” was a shabby-looking house in the middle of nowhere. The city was nowhere in sight and the road they had arrived on was not even asphalted. For the first time Kellin doubted Jaime’s intentions. He opened his mouth to ask something, but Jaime got out of the car and slammed his door shut before Kellin had managed to find his words. Jaime proceeded with getting Kellin’s bag before opening the door for him. Kellin didn’t like it and therefor looked up at him and bluntly asked:

“Are you going to kill me or something?”

Jaime stared at him, visibly taken aback. It took him a few seconds to collect himself and stutter out a response. “No… No.”

It didn’t comfort Kellin at all. Kellin looked around and realized no matter what this weird Mexican had planned for him, there was really no way out of it. He was somewhere in the middle of nowhere, if that made sense, and he couldn’t get away from there without the help of Jaime or Jaime’s car. Kellin didn’t even think about stealing Jaime’s car, knowing he’d never take Jaime in a fight. So Kellin took his bag from Jaime and left the car behind. Justin would not leave him stranded in San Diego, miles and miles away from home with a guy he didn’t trust. After this line of reasoning, he decided to step out of the car and took his bag from Jaime. He hug it over his shoulder, holding on to the strap as if it was his lifeline.

 

The doorbell made a weak sound. It seemed to just barely function. Pretty much like the rest of the house, Kellin thought. The paint was flaking and falling off, the steps he and Jaime were standing on were whole, but the paint had been worn off long ago. It looked like a house that was not meant to keep any roomers at all.

“¿Quién es?” someone called from inside the house.

“Jaime,” the Mexican answered shortly, pulling his hand through his hair.

“Jaime, what’s..?” Kellin started, but was interrupted by the wooden door flying open. In the door way stood a tall, lanky guy presumably in Kellin’s own age. He had shoulder-long, dark brown hair and brown eyes. Tattoos were covering both his arms and on his bare chest there was also a few. Kellin didn’t have time to note what they depicted as the guy stared him down. Kellin thought he looked as newly awoken as Kellin felt. Just a bit angrier.

“¿Quién es él? ¿Eres estúpida? No puedes traer a extranjeros aquí,” the boy said angrily, making Kellin want to slowly walk down the stairs and back to the car. This wasn’t really what he had expected.

Jaime groaned. “Michael Fuentes, you’re a senil idiot! This is Kellin.”

Michael stopped in the middle of his rant and stared at Kellin. Kellin saw the look in his eyes changing and the anger in his posture disappear.

“Oh shit,” the bare-chested guy said and stepped away from the doorway. “Sorry. My apologies. I just woke up.”

“So did Kellin and he ain’t acting like a jackass!” Jaime taunted and stepped past Michael through the doorway and disappeared into the house. Kellin hesitated for a moment, but then quickly walked past him to catch up with Jaime. Jaime sent a smile in Kellin’s direction and led the way into the small house. Kellin was surprised by the fact that the inside of the building was at least a bit more taken care of than the outside. It was pretty clean and even though the wallpaper had come off at some places, it still gave a nice and well-kept impression. Behind the front door was a very small hall and then followed a bigger room which seemed to serve as a living room. Kellin could glance into a kitchen from where he was standing, and at the other end of the room a hallway led to some other room. Michael sank down on one of two couches in the living room, looking up at Jaime.

“I had just forgotten,” he stated, when focusing his gaze on Kellin. Kellin reached up and removed his sunglasses, as they were no longer needed when they were inside. He heard Jaime’s breath hitch and Michael’s eyes grew a bit bigger.

“Well. Kellin Quinn, this is Michael Fuentes. Mike, meet Kellin.”

“Hi Michael,” Kellin said and walked up to him, holding out his hand. Mike’s look eased up and he shook Kellin’s hand.

“Nice to meet you, please call me Mike” Mike said, inspecting Kellin further. “No offence, but what on earth happened to you?”

Kellin cringed a little.

“MIKE!” Jaime chastised. “Seriously?”

“Sorry!” Mike exclaimed, glaring at Jaime. “I was just wondering.”

An awkward silence fell over the house as Jaime and Mike stared at each other, seemingly carrying out an entire wordless conversation. Eventually Kellin cleared his throat.

“So. I heard you’re here because you needed to be safe for a while, and let me promise you that this is the safest place in San Diego at the moment,” Mike told Kellin, smiling to him. “What do you wanna do? You look a bit tired.”

“I am. You’ve got anywhere I can sleep?” Kellin asked.

“Sure!” Mike said, turning to Jaime. “Let him take Vic’s bed, he’s not gonna be here yet.”

“Good, come on Kellin,” Jaime said. He grabbed Kellin’s arm and gently pulled him along down the hallway Kellin had noticed earlier. It lead to a door, behind which there was a bedroom.

“You can sleep here for a while,” Jaime said quickly and then pointed at another door. “There’s a bathroom in there, if you wanna clean those wounds a bit. But please don’t touch anything, the guy who lives here is sensitive…. Okay, I’m going to leave you alone.”

Jaime was half-way out the door before Kellin had time to react.

“Jaime!” he called out and the friendly Mexican turned in the doorway.

“What?” he smiled, glancing at his watch.

“I can find somewhere else to crash if it’s not okay with your friends,” Kellin said. “I swear, it’s okay. I don’t wanna intrude.”

“Kellin, it’s okay. Go to sleep, manito. I got this,” Jaime replied and then closed the door behind him, leaving Kellin alone. Kellin figured he didn’t have much choice but to trust Jaime, so he took a shower and changed clothes before laying down on the bed. He was asleep within a matter of minutes.

 

When Jaime reentered the living room Mike had lied down on the couch again, resting his head and his feet on the far ends. Jaime sat down on the armrest, next to Mike’s feet.

“What happened to him?” Mike asked straight out.

Jaime shook his head. “I don’t know. The only thing I know is that he needs to be completely off the radar for a while and now we’re in charge of that. We have responsibility for him now.”

“You make it sound like we’re babysitting him,” Mike muttered, closing his eyes with the intention to fall asleep again.

“Well, practically,” Jaime said. “Apparently Kellin is running from people who want to hurt him, as you clearly saw by the state of his face, and he needs to disappear for a while. Justin doesn’t know what will happen, how crazy those who want him will go, so Kellin needs to be off the streets.”

Mike relaxed. “Shit...”

“I know,” Jaime said. “But this will be the safest place in San Diego, dude. I can’t let anything happen to him. I owe Justin this.”

“I see where you come from,” Mike nodded, scratching his neck.

“He’s not safe,” Jaime said.

“Now he is,” Mike pointed out. “Have you told him about us yet?”

Jaime cringed at the thought. “No… Thought I’d leave that to Vic.”

Mike chuckled a little. “Good luck with that.”

“I’ll be leaving now. I have stuff to do with Tony,” Jaime informed and got up from the couch. “See you later.”

“See ya!” Mike mumbled, already falling into unconsciousness.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Woah! First chapter is up, I'm so nervous I might faint. There's gonna be a lot of action in this fic, you have been warned (and no i don't mean sex, I mean gang related things.. I MEAN.. I give up. Just yeah. You know what I mean.)  
> Leave kudos and comments if you enjoy it or if you didn't, let me know what you think. See ya around!


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Vic and Kellin meet for the first time. And Vic fucks up. Big time.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Aaah. This fic is so much harder to write than I thought. I'm so sorry if this sucks.

Victor Fuentes killed the engine of his car. He leaned back against the seat and glared at the house in front of him. He had arrived at what would become his new home for an unknown period of time. It wouldn’t be easy to stay away from his gang, Pierce the Veil, but safety was always first priority. This was a necessary step to keep himself alive and god knew Vic wanted to stay alive for a while longer. He had worked too hard to go down this young. With his 21 years of age he figured he still had a lot of stuff to do before he cashed in his check and went on to a world beyond this one. If there was one of those. He rubbed his eyes in a desperate try to stay focused for a few more minutes before he could collapse in bed. The negotiation meeting he had attended had been long and boring and Vic hadn’t been interested in anything the other part had to say. It had been a plain waste of time and Vic hated to waste time. After the meeting he had driven to his house to pick up the two already packed bags of clothes.

 

With a deep sigh Vic reached for two duffel bags in the passenger seat. He exited the vehicle and didn’t bother locking it. The only people who were going to move around here was his three best friends and they had no interest in his car. He stalked up to the front door and unlocked it with quick and irritated movements. Once the lock gave in he ripped the door open and glanced around the living room on the other side. His brother was sleeping on the couch. Vic glanced at the clock on his phone, it was midnight, and realized Jaime and Tony would be over in an hour to take the next shift. For a moment he wondered if he should tell his brother he had arrived, but decided against it. Mike would wake up when Jaime and Tony arrived and find out then. The more sleep the younger Fuentes could get, the better. Vic shut the front door behind him and locked it again.

 

He took off his shoes before trudging through the house. He had been there a lot of times before, but this time he was there to stay. He opened the door to his room and turned on the lights. He dropped the bags in shook as he realized someone was laying on his bed. Carefully, he walked up to the bed, looking down at the unknown boy. He had black hair and a thin body. He was pale and his face had been badly beaten. What the actual fuck? Vic reached for the gun in the lining of his pants, but just as he was about to grab it, the boy opened his eyes – looking straight at Vic. The boy let out a scream of surprise and threw himself of the bed, trying to run past Vic. Vic ran after him and caught him in the doorway, wrapping his arms around the boy’s waist and starting to drag him back into the room. With force, Vic whirled the boy around and let go of him – causing him to fall to the floor.

 

“What the fuck are you doing here?” Vic demanded, keeping his voice down to not wake his brother.

The boy lay on his stomach, holding himself up on his elbows and didn’t move, even when Vic talked to him. For a moment he was concerned he’d hurt him for real. He bent down and grabbed the boy’s arm, turning him over. The boy gave no answer, just put his other arm over his head in order to protect himself. Vic let go of him and straightened up.

“Who the fuck are you?” he asked, but didn’t get an answer this time either. “What crew do you belong to? Who sent you?” The boy stared at him with fear and crawled backwards.

“Oh for God’s sake,” Vic growled and approached him. A whimper escaped the boy as Vic grabbed his right arm and wrenched him up from the floor. He led the boy in front of him, toward the living room.

“MICHAEL FUENTES!” Vic’s voice boomed through the whole house. The answer came in form of a loud and clear curse. Mike got up from the couch just as Vic entered the room with the boy. Mike looked severely distressed when he laid eyes on them.

“You have three seconds to explain to me why there was a beaten up, unknown guy in my bed or I will lose my shit,” Vic declared, his irritation and tiredness getting the best of him. He wasn’t usually this aggressive. Well. At least not always.

“Vic, that’s Kellin Quinn,” Mike said, as if that would clear things up. Vic narrowed his eyes at his brother and wondered why he looked so freaked out.

“Who the fuck is Kellin Quinn?” Vic demanded. “I’m tired, I’m not in the mood for this shit, just tell me why the fuck he was in my bed!”

“He’s the runaway we agreed to give a safe haven!” Mike stressed. “You should really let go of him, Vic.”

Vic stared at his brother and then at the boy he was holding. Kellin hung his head, staring at the floor. He was trembling. Vic still tried to place the name and… Oh shit.

“You mean the kid Jaime was supposed to bring here?” he asked with widened eyes.

“Yes. He doesn’t even know who we are yet. Please let him go,” Mike said calmly. Vic immediately let go of Kellin, who fell to his knees.

“Oh man, oh man, oh man,” Vic freaked out and lifted Kellin up. “I’m so sorry. Oh shit. I’m so sorry.”

As soon as Kellin was on his feet, he violently pushed Vic away from him and Vic let him. He even took a few extra steps back, to ensure the poor kid he wasn’t going to hurt him.

“I had forgotten you were supposed to come here,” Vic explained. Kellin looked up at him with wide, tear-filled eyes. He hadn’t started crying though. Vic noted a long cut along Kellin’s cheekbone which had opened up at some point and was now bleeding. They stood for a while, just staring at each other. Vic sighed to himself.

Kellin opened his mouth to say something, but then turned around and disappeared to the bedroom. Vic glanced at Mike who nodded and together the brothers followed him. The black-haired boy was reaching for his phone and earbuds and put them down in his bag, then threw it over his shoulder.

“I’ll just go. I won’t tell anyone what happened,” Kellin mumbled quietly and moved toward the door.

 “You can leave the bag where it is,” Vic said from the doorway. “You can’t leave just yet.”

“Well, my apologies, but I want to,” Kellin said sarcastically and walked out the door. As he passed by, Mike grabbed the bag from his shoulder and threw it back into the bedroom.

“The bag stays and so do you,” he said with indifference. Kellin who had looked so scared only moments before now seemed to boil with anger.

“Says who?!” he yelled. “I have not traveled through the whole fucking country just to be beaten up. If you don’t want me here, I’ll leave!”

“We’ll call Jaime over here right away,” Vic said gently, trying to calm the boy down. “I’m sorry for what happened, I’m not usually violent.”

Mike huffed and Vic sent him a death glare saying _you are not helping_. Kellin gave him a tired look and then nodded.  

“Good,” Vic yawned, despite himself.  “Kellin, sit down in the living room. Mike, call Jaime and tell him to get his ass over here within 10 minutes. I promise you, Kellin, we’ll explain everything.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I swear to god this fic is going to get better with time. Stay with me. Kellin will unfortunately become a bit more sad before he gets happy, but yeah.  
> Kudos and comments are always appreciated.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Victor can be tactful, honestly he can, but he just really wants to get some sleep so he doesn't really have any fucks to give.

A pressing silence had fallen over the little house and no one dared break it – not even Vic himself. What was he supposed to say? Kellin probably wanted answers and he weren’t going to get them until Jaime arrived. On that note, what was he even going to say? How do you explain to a runaway, probably frightened guy that he’s stuck hiding in a house with the leader of Pierce the Veil? Vic shook his head to himself, trying to shake all doubts and second guessing away. He poured himself a bowl of milk and cereal, then joined Kellin and Mike in the living room. He sat down next to his brother on a couch, leaving Kellin alone on the other. After a few spoons of cereal Vic felt a bit more focused and not fully as pissed as he had been before. 8 minutes after Mike made the call someone banged on the door. Vic glanced at Kellin who seemed to be relieved, but also looked a bit pissed. Mike got up and unlocked the door and in through it stumbled Jaime.

“I’m here,” Jaime breathed. “And in one piece despite my reckless driving. I didn’t even get a ticket. Be proud.”

He joked, but didn’t fool anyone. Vic saw the concern in his eyes as they quickly took in the situation of the room. Vic knew his newly arrived friend was scared of him being angry, even if that wasn’t really the case this time. Vic put his bowl of cereal on the floor and got up from the couch.

“What did you want? Is there any trouble?” Jaime wondered, stealing glances at Kellin, who was staring down at his own hands. “Kellin, is everything alright?”

Kellin’s head snapped up and he looked nothing but unimpressed.

“Why are you bleeding?” Jaime asked quickly. He turned to Vic and the look in his eyes was darkening at alarming speed. “Vic, if you touched a hair on his head, I swear to God…”

Vic felt himself tense up and closed his hands to fists. Threats weren’t his thing, no matter who they came from. Mike quickly took a leap forward and positioned himself between Jaime and Vic, facing Vic, holding his hands out toward the shorter boy.

“Easy now, guys,” he urged, glancing over his shoulder now and then to make sure Jaime wouldn’t charge. “It was just a misunderstanding, Jaime.”

Kellin took this as an opportunity to speak up. “Ehm. I just... Can someone please just tell me what is happening?” he asked quietly. “I’m really tired of all the look-at-me-I’m-an-angry-mexican-shit.”

Mike’s eyes widened and he turned all of his focus to Vic, seemingly searching for hints to pick up on. Vic relaxed and even had to bite back a smile. Kellin was winning ground. Vic's shoulders sank down and he changed his posture. Mike stepped back and sank down on the couch behind them, Vic and Jaime remained where they were, focused on Kellin.

“Do you know who I am?” Vic wondered, holding Kellin’s gaze. Kellin hesitated, but then shook his head.

“You really pulled this one straight into the shit, didn’t you Jaime?” Vic sighed, earning a shrug from his friend. “I’m gonna get straight to the point here. My name is Victor Fuentes. I run one of the largest gangs in San Diego, called Pierce The Veil.” Vic paused to let it sink in. Kellin’s eyes grew wide.

“You… You’re the leader of a gang?” he echoed, glancing at Jaime for confirmation. Jaime nodded.

“Yes,” Vic answered slowly. “Mike, my brother, and Jaime are both members in my crew.”

“I’m so fucked,” Kellin whispered in shock. Vic smiled a little at that, shaking his head.

“You’re not in trouble,” he promised. “I’m sorry if I gave you that impression. You friend Justin contacted me through Jaime and asked me to keep you safe. I accepted, knowing that Jaime and Justin go back a long time.”

Kellin just stared so Vic decided to press on. “I can nothing but apologize for how I acted before. I had forgotten you were coming here and I thought you were here to ki… I mean, on business.”

“It’s okay,” Kellin said quietly.

A short silence fell as they all let Kellin take the information in. Jaime looked very concerned, while Mike was more curious. Vic mostly felt surprised. He thought the younger boy would make a run for it or something like that. So, while the mood was still calm, Vic went on.

“You say you want to leave, but we can’t let you do that,” he deadpanned. Kellin’s eyes grew wider again and Vic could hear Jaime groan.

“Nice sugarcoating, Vic,”  Mike muttered, hiding his face in his hands.

“How the fuck do you want me to sugarcoat that piece of information?” Vic wondered angrily and turned to his brother.

“Why not?” Kellin asked, looking like he wanted to throw up.

“Pierce the Veil is in conflict with another gang. We suspect they’ve put a price on my head, so I need to go underground for a while, just like you,” Vic explained with an as calm tone as he could manage. “This is my safe-house. We can’t risk you telling anyone where it is, willingly or not. It’s unfortunate that Jaime didn’t tell you earlier…”

“Didn’t tell me earlier?!” Kellin yelled, flying up from the couch, staring at Jaime. “Are you kidding me? Did you just strand me in a house with gang members and now you’re telling me I can’t leave? Is this a joke? I’m not up for jokes right now.”

“Kellin, you need to focus…” Jaime tried to reason, but it was useless. Kellin backed away from the boys, toward the front door. Vic nodded to Mike to keep an eye on it and Mike confirmed with a discrete hand gesture that he had it covered, in case Kellin decided to run.

“This is not happening,” Kellin mumbled to himself. “But I won’t tell anyone…”

“Stop it!” Vic interrupted him. Kellin quieted down and looked back down at the floor.

“You’re not leaving. You’re staying here with us until I can leave,” Vic explained, with his voice raised. “Nothing you say or do can change that fact, okay? You’re staying here.”

“What happens when you can leave?” Kellin asked, looking very tired all of a sudden.

“Then you can also leave,” Vic said truthfully. Kellin just nodded. He looked a bit broken, a bit lost, but Vic was too tired to notice or care.

“There’s just one last thing I want to say before you can go back to sleep or whatever,” he went on. “You are our welcomed guest, which means we won’t harm you unless you fuck anything up.”

“Vic,, seroiusly…” Jaime tried to butt in, but got shut down.

“No!” Vic said with force, glaring at Jaime. “There has to be rules for him not to get so involved that we can’t let him go after this. House rules: If there are people here who aren’t us, you don’t tell them who you are or why you are here. Also, we trust you to not try to run away. We’ll find you wherever you go. There is nowhere for you to hide. I have people everywhere in this town, you’d be back here in no time and then we will lock you up. You have to understand that we can’t risk that anyone gets to know where I am right now. Thirdly, do not eavesdrop. I’m serious, it’ll get you in trouble 100% of the time. Last, but most important, whatever I say, goes. These guys have a lot to say, but in the end my word is law. Questions?”

Kellin stared at Vic for a while before shaking his head.

“Good,” Vic answered approvingly and decided to mess with the kid. “Now. Why are you in San Diego?”

A flash of anger appeared in Kellin's eyes, but it was soon replaced by that tiredness Vic had seen earlier. Vic shrugged it all off as lack of sleep, but if he had looked clsoe enough he'd seen it was the kind of tired that sleep can't cure.

 “You have no any right to ask me that,” Kellin hissed. “You do whatever the fuck you want, but I’m not answering that.”

“Okay,” Vic said, shrugging. “Then that’s all I had for you. Anyone else who feels a need to speak up?”

Kellin looked at Jaime, wishing he would object or just take him away from there, but the before so happy guy kept his eyes on Vic and didn’t say anything.

“Can I go?” Kellin whispered.

“Sure,” Vic said and he barely had time to blink before the boy had disappeared into the bedroom again and slammed the door behind him.

“I’m going after him,” Jaime informed, but Vic held his hand out to stop him.

“Don’t,” Vic commanded. “Leave him for now… I’m going to bed soon, I'll talk to him.”

“Dude, I don’t think he’s gonna be alright with sharing,” Jaime pointed out.

“Then he can sleep on the fucking floor!” Vic exclaimed, feeling his patience slipping away. He was too tired for this shit. “Sorry. I’m just really tired.”

Jaime and Mike decided that Mike would stay the night and Jaime and Tony would start their shift in the early morning instead. Vic said goodbye to Jaime before he left, then steered his steps toward the bedroom, hoping to not have to deal with anymore arguments.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Soooo! Next chapter is gonna be long. Shit's gonna go down - big time. The one after next chapter that's where the fluff starts.   
> Kudos and comments are always nice yay!


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Someone said demanding Vic and protective Jaime. I will try to deliver.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> CHANGE OF PLANS! That chapter where shit would go down? That's gonna be the next one. Sorry loves.

Kellin left the group of Pierce the Veil members behind and ran to the bedroom. He closed the door with a loud slam and sank down on the other side of it, trying to breathe calmly. It didn’t work. He would kill Justin. He would kill Jaime. If he was going to do that he’d have to kill Vic. Why the hell not kill them all? Of course Kellin was not a violent person and he realized none of those threatening thoughts would ever be turned into action, so he’d have to settle for calling Justin and… He couldn’t call Justin, he reminded himself. Kellin’s father would undoubtedly keep track of Justin’s phone records, which was what Justin had been telling Jaime to pass on to Kellin when he arrived. Shit. Kellin hit his head against the door and cursed. He’d have to stay here. He could hear Vic’s voice in his head, telling him that there was no way for him to escape. This was no good.

 

It became more difficult to breathe again and Kellin realized he had to calm down if he hoped to not end up with a full-blown panic attack. He thought through the situation. Jaime seemed to be a good guy. He thought about the calming, happy expression the guy had worn the first time they met, and the fact that he had managed to fall asleep in the car, even though they had just met. That meant Kellin probably could count on him to be a good person. Mike had also tried his best and been nice. He had even defended Kellin in front of Vic, which also Jaime had done. Vic… The short, hot-tempered Mexican with the beautiful brown eyes had scared the living hell out of Kellin. There was no doubt there. He looked threatening, even though he was short. Kellin couldn’t put his finger on what made him seem intimidating – maybe his muscles? Or the nose ring? Or his long, brown hair? Nah, that wasn’t it. It was the way he carried himself. From the moment he had woken Kellin up to the moment he had granted Kellin to leave the room, he had acted like he was in complete control – with the small exception of when Mike told him Kellin was Kellin and he had realized he’d been violent against a guest. Kellin thought about it for a while and came to the conclusion that two of three people he had met wanted to keep him safe, whereas one had unclear intentions. The odds were in his favour. ‘My word is law’. Kellin shook his head to get rid of the quote that trashed his line of thinking. He’d have to give Vic another chance.

-

The door moved and pushed into Kellin’s back.

“Oh shit” was heard from the other side. Kellin quickly got to his feet and the person on the other side of the door made a new attempt at open it. Kellin brushed the dust off his jeans and then casually looked up at Vic who entered, closing the door behind him.

“You okay?” Vic wondered, looking back at Kellin.

“Sure,” Kellin replied shortly.

“So… The thing is we have only one bed here. There’s a couch free out there now, but Jaime and Tony will get here at like… 7 AM so then they will probably wake the one who sleeps there up,” Vic declared.

“And..?” Kellin urged him on.

“So I thought since there’s a double bed in here, maybe we could share,” Vic said calmly, searching for a reaction somewhere in Kellin’s figure.

“Okay,” Kellin found himself saying before he had even thought about it. If Vic thought he was going to freak out, he wouldn’t.

“Great,” Vic said, sounding relived. “I’ll head to bed immediately if you don’t mind.”

“Me too,” Kellin answered, but already regretted this decision. He lay down on the side of the bed he had been sleeping on earlier – fully clothed, just like then. Vic made no remark about it and Kellin appreciated it. He looked at Vic for a moment, while the Mexican had his back to him. Vic was pulling out the drawer in the bedside table and put a gun down in it before closing it again. As Vic grabbed the hem of his t-shirt Kellin turned his back to him, but could hear him climbing out of his jeans and t-shirt, before slinking down under the comforter and resting his head on his pillow. A comfortable silence spread over the room and Kellin noted how quickly Vic’s breathing evened out. Kellin closed his eyes, exhaling deeply. It would be okay.

-

Vic woke up feeling 100 times better than he had when he went to bed. He slowly opened his eyes, trying to adjust to his very light surroundings. Seeing the sunlight leek in through the curtains made his heart a little warmer. He slipped out of bed and pulled on a pair of jeans. He noted Kellin wasn’t in the bed anymore and hoped to God the little runaway hadn’t done just that – run away. It would be such a horrible way to ruin this so far beautiful morning. With a yawn he exited the room, scratching his side restlessly. With motivated steps he set course for the kitchen. He passed living room seeing Jaime lying asleep on one of the couches, Mike on the other. Vic frowned, wondering where the hell Tony was. He let the thought go and assumed something had come up. Once out in the kitchen he scavenged the fridge, taking out everything that looked edible at this hour. He was in the process of making _the_ most amazing sandwich when he realized he was alone in the kitchen. He dropped the butter knife and ran out of the room. He checked the bathroom door – it was unlocked, meaning Kellin wasn’t in there. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Vic debated whether or not to wake Jaime and Mike up, but decided not to. He could handle this fucking idiot on his own. How difficult could it be to understand? Kellin should realize Vic couldn’t, and would never, risk his own safety for Kellin’s freedom to walk around wherever he pleased and not only that - the instructions from Justin had been clear: No one was allowed to know where Kellin was and he was under no circumstances allowed to walk off on his own or be in public places. Clearly, ‘don’t run away rule’ was benefiting for both parties. Vic quickly put on his shoes and opened the front door. It shouldn’t have been unlocked, talk about an obvious safety risk. It bugged Vic that Kellin risked his own safety, but after all it was his safety to risk. But Vic was also aware of that Mike was asleep on the other side of that door and anyone could have sneaked in and killed him. Forcing a door open would have woken the whole house up and it could have given Mike, and Jaime for that matter, the extra second they needed to reach for a gun or take cover. Vic wasn’t just irritated anymore – he was getting angrier by the second. He stood on the porch, scanning the open area in front of the house. Just when he thought Kellin wasn’t there, he caught sight of someone sitting on the ground a good twenty meters to the side of the house. Vic jumped over the staircase bannister and landed swiftly on the lawn. As he walked closer, he saw Kellin was leaning against the tree, looking at something in woods. Vic sneaked up behind Kellin, completely amazed at how oblivious the younger boy was to his presence. Kellin was ripping off chunks of grass from the ground and twirled it to pieces before throwing it away. He seemed to be deep in thought. Vic took out his gun and aimed it at the back of Kellin’s head. Kellin tensed up and Vic could hear him inhale sharply.

“Bang,” Vic said. “You’d be dead before you even knew it.”

Vic dropped his aim, having proved his point. As soon as the cold steel had no contact with Kellin’s skin he turned around violently. He stared at Vic and the gun with wide eyes. Vic saw he had managed to scare him. Good.

“What the fuck are you doing out here by yourself?” Vic asked, his voice low and menacing. “Do you realize that you just put all of our lives in danger?”

“You could have shot me,” Kellin exclaimed, probably not having grasped anything Vic just said.

“You could have gotten all of us killed!” Vic answered, raising his voice. “What did I tell you about running away?”

“I wasn’t…”

“I don’t care what your intentions were!” Vic yelled. “You left the door unlocked. If someone had found us now we would all have been dead and it would have been your fault! Mike and Jaime are lying on the couches in there, asleep. Do you realize what would have happened if someone came over here? They would have went in and shot them before they even had time to open their eyes. Then I would have been next.”

Kellin opened his mouth to say something, but closed it again.

“Get up,” Vic ordered. Kellin didn’t move an inch, still trying to figure out what the hell was happening. Vic had to channel every last part of his lacking self-control to not lash out.

“I highly suggest you get up right now or I will put a bullet in you.”

Kellin scrambled up from the lawn and winced as Vic forcefully grabbed his arm, dragging him along towards the house again.

“I’m sorry…” Kellin tried, but Vic didn’t want to hear any of it.

“’I’m sorry’ doesn’t really cut it, Quinn,” Vic growled. “Risk my brother’s life again and I’ll kill you.”

Kellin shut up and Vic thanked god. He would not be able to resist another urge to punch him in the face. Vic practically pushed Kellin into the house and locked it after having followed. Kellin flinched a little at the clicking sound of the lock, but Vic didn’t care. He stormed forward and kicked the couch Jaime was sleeping on.

“Hey, Jaime. Wake up!”

Jaime’s eyes shot open. Vic leaned over and shook Mike awake too. The younger Fuentes glared at his older brother, but upon seeing the look on his face, he sat up. Both Jaime and Mike gazed intently at Vic and Kellin. “What happened?”

“Genius here wandered off on his own and left the door unlocked,” Vic informed them, getting a groan as reply from Jaime. “From now on one of you keeps awake at all times. I don’t want find Kellin outside again, understood?”

“Got it,” Mike answered, glaring at Kellin. Vic looked at Jaime.

“Sure, Pres.”

Vic nodded, turning to Kellin again. “I meant what I said out there. One more time…”

“You’re insane,” Kellin said quietly.

“Kellin, don’t make it worse,” Jaime jumped in, hopping up from the couch. Vic held his hand out to hold Jaime back.

“No. Let’s hear what he has to say,” Vic said, raising an eyebrow. “Come on then. Go ahead. Tell us what’s bothering you.”

“You pointed a gun to my head,” Kellin started off, but got cut short by Vic who couldn’t keep his mouth shut.

“You deserved it.”

“You could have killed me!” Kellin exclaimed with a mix of fright and anger.

“I know how to safely handle a gun,” Vic pointed out and resisted the urge to roll his eyes. “The safety was on. My finger wasn’t on the trigger.”

“How was I supposed to know that? You scared the life out of me,” Kellin argued, still staring at Vic.

“Shut up. Do you seriously believe I would put a bullet in your brain?” Vic yelled angrily. “Imagine trying to explain that one to Justin, even though I’d probably get away with it.”

“You…”

“YOU. You broke my rules. I told you that what I say goes around here and it fucking does. This is not some stupid game, Kellin. This is life and death. I can keep you alive. I can have you killed in a split second. There’s a reason I run a crew,” Vic hissed. With calm steps he walked up to Kellin, only stepping when they were not more than 20 centimeter apart. He looked into the runaway’s blue eyes.

“Got anything more you want to say?” he asked.

Kellin turned his eyes to the floor. “No.”

“Good,” Vic said, backing up. “Someone please get him out of my sight. I’m gonna get my damn breakfast now.”

-

Kellin’s gaze followed Vic until the Mexican had disappeared into to the kitchen and was ultimately out of sight. He noticed he was shaking and looked up at Jaime with a pained expression.

“I’m gonna… I’m gonna go and…” he stuttered, before turning around and hurried out of the room. He heard running steps behind him and looking over his shoulder he saw Jaime catching up with him.

“Hey, hey, hey,” Jaime said quietly and Kellin stopped in the middle of the corridor. He clenched his jaws together, trying desperately not to start crying even though the lump in his throat was threatening. Jaime finally caught up properly and engulfed Kellin in a hug. Kellin tensed up at first, shocked at the gentle ways of the bigger dude, but soon relaxed again and leaned on Jaime for support. He forced himself to bite back the tears.

“He’s not always an idiot,” Jaime claimed. “He’s just under a lot of pressure right now. You can’t even begin to imagine.”

Kellin broke the embrace and looked up at Jaime. “There’s nothing I don’t know about pressure.”

“Well, I can’t argue, cause I don’t know you, but just trust me…” Jaime fumbled for words. “He’s a good guy, deep down. He’s good at the core. He has just wrapped it up in so many layers of anger and attitude.”

“Why is he pressured? Is it the whole hiding out with me thing?” Kellin wasn’t even sure why he asked – he didn’t really care about Vic. Okay. Maybe he did. Maybe he did because he was one of those people who were worthless at saying no and this whole thing with not giving a shit about people around him had never ever suited him or been possible for him. Maybe that was why. He was also curious to why Vic was hiding out. He had been told it was because someone had put a price on his head, but honestly wasn’t that always the case with leaders of gangs?

Jaime looked unsure about what to say. Kellin knew it was probably difficult for him saying anything that could be seen by Vic as betrayal, but at the same time Kellin had… no. He didn’t have the right to know – but he needed to.

“Come on,” Jaime said, gesturing for Kellin to follow him to the bedroom. Once they had entered, Jaime locked the door behind them. Kellin sat down on the end of the bed while Jaime paced back and forth.

“You don’t have to tell me,” Kellin said, starting to regret pushing Jaime for information.

Jaime ran a hand through his hair. “No. No. You should know. I’m just not sure where to start.”

Kellin nodded and sat in silence while Jaime tried to work out a way to pick the subject up. After a while he had decided on an approach.

“Okay. This is the current situation: There’s a new gang in town who are… challenging us. They are working on our territory, selling drugs in our blocks and scare people we get paid to protect,” Jaime explained, keeping a close eye on Kellin’s reactions. “The president or leader or whatever title they go for is called Oli Sykes. He has tried his best to piss Vic off since he came to town and he got what he wanted. Vic didn’t lose his cool though and have managed to negotiate a peace between Oli’s crew and PTV.”

“Then why hide?” Kellin wondered when Jaime fell silent for a while.

“It’s not that easy…” Jaime sat down next to Kellin. “There are a few people within our own gang who… who doesn’t like Vic’s leadership. They think he’s too young. They think he’s too naïve and not ruthless enough. They are wrong – of course. Vic may be young, but he’s smart. He keeps us out of jail but doesn’t lose territory. He’s perfect in the leader role. Back to the problem though… We suspect that someone from our gang is conspiring with Oli to take Vic out.”

Kellin found himself inhaling sharply. “What?”

“Yeah. It’s insane. It’s terrifying. It makes all of us want to murder someone. Everyone is on edge right now and especially Vic. I’m not saying it’s an excuse, but it is what it is.”

“Does the rest of your gang know where Vic is now?” Kellin asked.

“No,” Jaime replied. “It’s just me, Mike and Tony who knows.”

“Well at least that’s good,” Kellin said, but Jaime looked at him as if he was crazy.

“No, no it’s not,” he exclaimed. “You don’t understand how we operate… We… Pierce the Veil is one unit. We are all brothers. Sure, there’s a hierarchy, we wouldn’t be able to function otherwise, but we are all brothers anyway. Keeping information from the rest of the members are not good. People get pissed. We can’t trust anyone until we find Oli’s co-conspirator though.”

“JAIME! GET OUT HERE!” Mike’s voice yelled from the living room.

“I have to go,” Jaime said, flying up from the couch. “Don’t tell Vic I told you this. I don’t know what he’d do…”

“I won’t,” Kellin promised and waved goodbye as Jaime left the room.

 

The rest of the day slowly, slowly passed. Jaime left immediately after Mike had called him out to the living room and Kellin hadn’t gotten any explanation. He kept to himself at all times except for mealtime, when the brothers and Kellin crashed out in the living room, watching TV. When night fell, Vic and Kellin went to bed as if their fight had never happened, sleeping on their own side of the bed, backs toward each other.  


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Tony appears for the first time, Jack Barakat can't keep his dick out of trouble and Kellin almost gives Vic a heartattack.

The doorbell rang repeatedly. With a frustrated sigh Vic turned his head and looked at his alarm clock. 4 AM. Despite internal conflict he shoved his legs over the edge of the bed and convinced himself to stand up. Was he never going to get to sleep in peace?! When the doorbell rang at 4 AM it was never good news and bad news meant having to be alert. He glanced at Kellin who sat up on his side of the bed and looked at Vic as if awaiting orders. Finally learning, Vic thought to himself and then told him to not leave the room. Vic himself jumped into a pair of jeans and then exited his room, walking down the hallway to the combined hall and living room. His little brother was just getting up from one of the couches when Vic was entering. Mike was holding a gun in his right hand and Vic knew it was loaded and ready for use. While not breaking eye contact a single time they got closer to the door.

“Who is it?” Vic asked, standing back while Mike sneaked up right next to the door, ready to open it and fire.

“It’s Tony and me! Open up!” Jaime answered from the other side.

Vic exhaled while Mike unlocked the door and opened it. Vic watched as his brother’s body went rigid and his eyes grew wide. The shock seemed to settle in a second and was exchanged for confusion and anger.

“What the hell happened?” Mike shouted. Vic ran up to the door and pushed it so it opened up wider. He groaned at the sight that met him. Jaime was bleeding and practically leaned on Tony for support. Tony himself looked unharmed. Vic hurried out on the porch to help Tony to half-carry Jaime into the living room. They lowered him down on a couch.

“What happened?” Vic asked, looking between Tony and Jaime for some answers. “Mike, get some liquor and bandages.”

“We got shot at and he fell,” Tony explained with distress. “When he fell, he hit his head. The bullet only scratched him, but the fall got him good.”

Vic took a deep breath trying not to jump into a fit of rage before Jaime and Tony had gotten the chance to explain the situation. Mentally, he had already starting to go over the list of possible ways to retaliate against whoever had attacked them. A sudden need to put a bullet through someone’s brain was overwhelming. Getting to land a few punches at the bastard’s face was almost just as tempting. Maybe do a bit of carving if he felt creative. If there was one thing PTV was known for it was that they looked out for their own. Vic grabbed the hem of the sleeve of Jaime’s shirt and ripped as hard as he could. The long-armed sleeve broke into two pieces and Jaime groaned.

“Jesus, Vic,” he complained warily. “I’m fine.”

Vic inspected wound. It was about five centimeter’s long and blood was seeping out in a steady flow. It looked uglier than it was though. Tony was right, it was only a graze but it still needed to been seen to. Mike came running from the kitchen with the supplies. He reached the liquor to Jaime to take a swing and then gave it to Vic who without warning poured it in the wound. Jaime yelled every damn insult he knew and Vic had to remind himself they weren’t directed at him. Or maybe they were, but in whichever case he shouldn’t pay attention to it. After putting some pressure on it to make the worst of the bleeding subside, Vic wrapped the bandage around Jaime’s bicep and fastened it. Jaime muttered a thank you and sat up. He sat with his elbow leaned on his knee, resting his head in his hand. He looked about just as happy as if he had been sitting in court waiting for his verdict.

“How’s your head?” Tony asked as he sat down next to him.

“Fine,” Jaime muttered in response.

“Are you going to tell us what happened?” Vic asked, standing in front of them with his arms crossed. “Who was it?”

He saw Jaime and Tony exchanging worried glances and immediately got suspicious. Something was wrong. Why were they hesitating? He could only find one reason – they were afraid of getting in trouble. They would only be afraid of getting in trouble for being attacked if… If they caused the situation themselves. Vic decided to let them sit in silence for a while, building tension and stress. It was Jaime who caved in and broke the silence.

“Vic, we’ll explain it all but just…” Jaime started, Vic silenced him with an angry look.

“I’m trying very hard to not get angry, bro. What did you do?” Vic inquired.

“We didn’t exactly do much,” Tony answered slowly, glancing at Jaime. “We ran into Sykes’ crew.”

“Mierda…” Mike muttered from where he was leaning against the wall.

“Go on,” Vic urged Tony.

“They started shooting at us, man,” Jaime said, picking up Tony’s thread. “There was nothing we could do. We ran, but we had to fire back at them a few times to keep the distance.”

Vic frowned. “I thought Sykes agreed to leave us alone in our own territory?”

Jaime swallowed loudly. “Yeah… About that…”

Vic saw red. “Are you completely fucking insane?!”

“Vic…” Tony leaned back, a desperate look in his eyes. Vic’s urge to retaliate quickly changed form and before Vic had realized it he launched himself at Tony, hitting him right over his eye. Tony howled in equal part pain and surprise before getting thrown off the couch onto the floor.

“¿Estás loco? ¿Entiendes la importancia de la paz con Sykes es ahora?” Vic roared, not even aware he had switched to his mother tongue. _Are you crazy? Do you realize how important the peace with Sykes is right now?_

“Victor, enough!” Mike shouted from somewhere behind him. Vic didn’t have enough control over himself to think or even answer, even somewhere in the back of his mind a tiny voice yelled at him to stop. He raised his fist, ready to throw another punch at Tony. Mike grabbed Vic around the waist and lifted him up from the floor. He was put down a few steps away from Tony who pulled himself backwards along the floor. Away from Vic. Vic readied himself to strike at Tony again, but Mike stepped between them.

“Vic, stop it. Seriously, stop it right now,” Mike ordered. Vic was breathing heavily, his heart with a steady rhythm pumping anger along with his blood, letting the feeling circulate in his body, making him boil. Had anyone else but his brother given him that order he wouldn’t have cared, but he couldn’t ignore Mike and they both knew it. Vic focused on his brother, looking into his eyes and took a deep breath.

“Cálmate, hermano. It’s not his fault. It’s not him you’re angry at is it?”

Vic put his hands up. “I’m fine, we’re fine.”  
Mike reached his hand out to Tony, who took it and rose from the floor. He brushed off the dirt on his clothes and then sat back down on the couch. Vic sat down on the back of the opposite couch, wincing a little as the cold leather of the couch meet the soles of his feet. The cold was just what Vic needed to pull himself together.

“So… What were you doing in Sykes’ territory?” Vic wondered, pulling his hand through his long, brown hair. It was a bit tangled and his fingers got stuck on a twisted knot. He entertained himself with dissolving it while Tony explained.

“Alex Gaskarth called. He told Jaime that Jack was stuck there and needed help to get out. Sykes’ guys were after him. He had managed to lose them, but couldn’t leave his hiding spot. We went in to get him out. Peacefully in and out, that was the plan.”

Vic raised an eyebrow. “What would Sykes want with him? Both Jack nor Alex are part of any crew, and either way it’s well-known me and Alex go way back.”

Jaime cleared his throat and tried to hold back a grin. Tony just shook his head.

“Hey, don’t kill the messenger, okay?” Jaime said and Vic nodded in response. “Jack supposedly slept with Sykes’ girlfriend. Sykes found out. ”

Vic groaned. “Are you telling me we might get a war on our hands because Jack Barakat couldn’t keep his dick out of trouble?”

“If you wanna call that trouble, man,” Jaime mumbled, shrugging.

“Dude. If she has slept with Sykes, then yes, she is probably trouble.”

“Okay, can we keep focus please? Sykes’ girlfriend is not really interesting in this scenario,” Mike reminded them.

“Right,” Vic looked for what he was supposed to say. “Right… Did you get Jack out?”

“Alex and Jack took off as Sykes’ guys started shooting at us,” Jaime said. “I told you, man, we had no choice.”

“Why didn’t you call me when Alex reached out?” Vic almost whined, all anger gone, replaced by tiredness. He jumped down from the couch and in the corner of his eye he saw Tony tense up. Vic ignored it for the moment, knowing he’d have to apologize to him later. He started to pace around.

“We didn’t want to bother you,” Jaime reasoned. “We knew you were still a bit off-balance after the whole thing with Kellin and you needed to sleep. It’s not like you could have come and helped us either. It was supposed to be an easy fixed problem, okay? It just went a bit south.”

“A bit…” Vic muttered through clenched teeth and Jaime fell silent. “I negotiated for weeks with Sykes to get peace between us and now he thinks that I crossed the lines and broke it.”

“Did you shoot anyone from Sykes’ crew?” Mike butted in.

“I don’t know,” Tony replied. “We were too busy trying to get away and make sure Jack and Alex left safely.”

He turned to Vic. “We didn’t know what else to do, Vic! We couldn’t just leave Jack there either.”

“Yeah,” Vic sighed. “I know, I know. You did the right thing.”

Mike shrugged and all eyes fell on Vic while they waited for orders.

“Mike, call Alex. I want him here first thing in the morning. Say 7 A.M or something,” Vic commanded.

“It’s 4:30 in the…”

“I’m fucking aware of that! It’s his fault we’re in this mess. Tell him to bring Jack,” Vic interrupted, raising voice. Mike just nodded and disappeared out the door, cellphone in his hand.

“Jaime. I need you to check up on Sykes’ crew. Try to get info on if anyone of them are hurt… I’m gonna have to make a few calls to him in the morning.”

Jaime nodded. “Sure thing, boss.”

“What do I do?” Tony asked, eager to help make things right again.

“You’re staying here, I need to speak to you,” Vic said and ignored the worry that spread through Tony’s features.

Jaime hesitated, but Vic glared at him until also he left the house to make his calls. As soon as he was out, Vic sighed deeply. He turned to Tony who once again tensed up.

“Vic, I’m sorry, okay?”

“I know you are. I’m sorry too,” Vic said, sitting down next to him. “I shouldn’t have taken my anger out on you. I shouldn’t have hit you. It was an idiotic move, okay?”

Tony’s pupil’s dilated with shock. “What?”

“I’m sorry I hit you,” Vic repeated calmly. “I shouldn’t have taken it out on you.”

Tony nodded and relaxed. “It’s okay. I know you have a lot of shit on your shoulders right now.”

“That’s no excuse,” Vic mumbled and leaned in for a hug. “You don’t go around throwing punches at your brothers, no matter the situation. That's a new low, even for me. I’m really sorry.”

He felt Tony wrapping his arms around him and that he relaxed even more, now truly believing that Vic wasn’t angry anymore. They broke the embrace and smiled at each other.

“Are we good, brother?” Vic wondered and stood up.

“Yeah, it’s cool,” Tony nodded, then peered over Vic’s shoulder. “Who’s that? Is that Kellin?”

Vic hurled around and saw Kellin standing at the end of the hallway leading to their room, trying to make up his mind about whether to step forward or run back. When Vic’s gaze fell on him, he turned around and disappeared out of sight.

“Oh for god’s sake,” Vic exclaimed and darted after him. As he entered the hallway, the door to his and Kellin’s room was slammed shut and locked. Vic banged on it.

“Open up, Kellin,” he yelled.

“No.” came the faith answer.

“I said: Open. The. Fucking. Door,” Vic growled angrily. Tony now appeared behind him, looking confused but also willing to help.

“What’s up?” he asked quietly.

Vic ignored his question and kept talking through the door. “If you don’t open up the door, I will break it down.”

“Then go ahead.”

That little shit. Vic let out a roar and punched the door as hard as he could. The loud bang and the pain in his hand made him feel a bit better as he sunk to his knees, fishing the tools he needed to pick the lock from the pocket of his jeans. Less than thirty seconds later Vic rose again and kicked the door open. He stalked into the room, boiling with anger.

“Kellin Quinn, what did I tell you about eavesdr…” he said and then interrupted himself as he looked around. Kellin was standing by the bed, holding Vic’s gun in his hands, now pointing it straight at Vic. He looked jumpy to say the least and Vic instantly knew that right now Kellin Quinn was a greater danger to his life than if it had been Oliver Sykes standing in front of him. People with no experience, because Vic presumed Kellin had none, had on one hand worse aim, but when they were jumpy and nervous, like Kellin, you could never know if they would pull the trigger.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Woohooo! Finally a new chapter up. I had a dear friend from Norway here for a few days and therefore couldn't update. Anyhow, you'll soon begin to see changes in a lot of characters and soon Jack and Alex will appear for the first time. Woho! 
> 
> "Too many woho's there..."


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which someone should really have shared this piece of advice with Vic:
> 
> “You might want to lie down. I find that it helps when the crushing sense of horrible realization sets in.”

Vic took a deep breath, pushing his anger away to leave place for some sensibility. As soon as he had laid eyes on Kellin he knew he had made a mistake. Fuck. He should have known better than to push the boy. He should also have known better than to leave a loaded gun laying around. He glanced over his shoulder and saw Tony was stilling standing outside and therefore couldn’t see Kellin or what was going on. Something in Vic’s eyes must had tipped him off though, because with one hand on his concealed gun, Tony entered.

“Fucking hell!” he exclaimed, drawing the gun and aiming. “Drop the gun, kid.”

“I’ll kill him,” Kellin said quietly, focusing on Vic, now and then stealing a glance at Tony. “Get out.”

“Let’s not get ahead of ourselves,” Vic gently said. “Tony. Put the gun down and go get Jaime. Nice and easy, okay?”

Tony looked at him as if he was mad.

“Now, Tony!” Vic snapped and Tony immediately removed his finger from the trigger of his gun and slowly bent down to put in on the floor.

“Kick it away,” Kellin ordered and Tony did as he was told.

“Are you sure about this, Vic?” he asked, keeping his eyes on Kellin. Vic glanced at him again and nodded.

“Go.”

Tony slowly backed out of the room and ran away.

“Close the door,” Kellin said, his voice wavering slightly. Vic turned around and reached out to swing the door shut. Kellin was sweating by now and Vic wished he knew what was going on in the younger boy’s head. It would have been nice to know which buttons not to press in this situation. He tried to think through everything that had happened since Kellin had arrived. He remembered noticing the cuts and bruises on Kellin’s face, but dismissing it with far more ease than he wanted to admit. For him, it was normal. People got in to fights all around him, all the time. Vic wouldn’t even dream about denying the fact that he couldn’t even count the number of people he’d put such bruises and cuts on. He should have realized that for Kellin none of this was normal. Vic wasn’t normal, being stuck in a house wasn’t normal, running away from everything he knew wasn’t normal. And to add to the mess Vic had treated him like shit. One of Vic’s many vices were his impatience and he was aware of that himself. Kellin didn’t fit with the dynamic of the group. He made mistakes. He was unexperienced. He was a risk. He was new and unfamiliar. He was a stranger Vic hadn’t met through gangs and that was rare. Vic hadn’t been sure how to handle Kellin from the beginning and had ended up breaking the poor guy when he had needed support.

Vic decided to try a resolute approach. He took a step forward and held out his hand.

“Give me the gun, Quinn,” he commanded, as if Kellin had been anyone from Pierce The Veil. “Hand it over before anyone gets hurt.”

“Stay back!” Kellin yelled and Vic noticed that his finger squeezed the trigger a bit more firmly. _Abort mission. Abort._ Vic stopped immediately and held his hands out. One wrong step and it could be over. He knew Kellin probably deep down didn’t want to shoot, but when he was this scared and riled up, he could easily pull the trigger without even realizing it. Vic analyzed the situation yet again.

He would not be taken down by a motherfucking run-away from god knew where. He had worked too hard to go down like this.

“Kellin. I don’t think you’ve thought this through,” he said in a new attempt. “What are you going to do? Do you have a plan? If you kill me, you are never leaving this house. My brother will end you. You don’t want to die, do you Kellin?”

Kellin’s hands were shaking badly. Vic swallowed.

“Kellin. Please, give me the gun before you hurt anyone,” Vic pleaded, shifting his weight from his left to his right foot.

“It’s you or me,” Kellin whispered and tears started to roll down his cheeks. Vic stared. What the fuck?

“Why is that, Kellin?” he wondered, frowning.

“Cause if I give you the gun, you’ll kill me…”

“Who said anything about killing?” Vic asked calmly. “I’m not going to kill you, Kellin.”

“You’ll kick the shit out of me. I’m so tired of being kicked around. I’m so, so tired of being kicked around,” Kellin cried, lowering the gun a bit before raising it again. “I can’t take it anymore.”   
It was clear that pain and panic was swallowing the other boy alive. Desperation was the only thing on Vic’s mind as he saw the look in Kellin’s eyes. Vic’s anger was not only pressed back anymore, it was completely gone. From that second on, Vic knew for sure Kellin didn’t want to kill him. Kellin wanted to kill himself, he just hadn’t figured it out yet.

“I can’t do this anymore,” Kellin whispered, gazing at Vic.

Vic cursed himself again, telling himself, promising God that if both he and Kellin made it through the night he would make up for what he had done. He should have seen it earlier, damn it. With Kellin’s shady background, the secrecy, the wounds. Vic ought to have known something was very wrong.

He should have handled according to his observations. Fuck. Vic walked forward, slowly, slowly.

“Kellin. You’ll be alright,” Vic claimed. “I won’t hurt you and I won’t let anyone of the others hurt you either.”

Vic was within reach of the gun and he slowly reached out for it when shouts started ringing through the house.

“Kellin Quinn, you bastard! If you hurt him I’ll kill you! You hear me? You’re done! You’re a dead man walking!”

Vic knew it was Mike yelling, and raised his voice to drown out his brother. “Ignore him! Focus on me, Kellin. I’m right here. Nothing is going to happen to you.”

For a few seconds Kellin kept his nervous gaze on the door and that was enough for Vic to grab hold of the gun and take it away. He quickly took out the magazine and threw the two parts behind him. Kellin’s eyes snapped back and he looked at Vic with such terror in his eyes that Vic almost wanted to crawl out of his own skin and be someone else for a moment. He felt ashamed for being scary and violent. That was a first.

“Kellin,” Vic whispered, just as Kellin’s knees gave in. Vic caught him before he hit the floor and held him close. He sat them both down on the floor and just held Kellin while his silent crying turned to sobs. Kellin made a weak attempt at pushing Vic away at first, but then grabbed his t-shirt, holding on to it as if it was a lifeline.

“It’s okay…”

 Someone wrenched the door open so violently it almost left its hinges. Kellin flinched as if he had been burned and Vic just held him tighter to his chest, glanced over his shoulder, seeing his friends staring in shock. All of them carried a gun. Mike looked ready to kill anything that moved and was the only one who didn’t seem thrown off by Kellin’s loud crying, or the fact that Vic was holding him.

“Please leave us alone,” Vic pleaded, trying to keep his voice steady. “Go. Take my brother with you. Just go.”

Jaime reacted immediately and grabbed Mike’s arm, dragging him back out of the room. Tony followed them without hesitation, closing the door behind him. Vic turned back to Kellin, who looked up at him with red eyes.

“I’m sorry,” he said, repeating it again and again until Vic put his hand over his mouth to shut him up.

“Stop saying you’re sorry. I’m sorry too,” Vic said with honesty. “I shouldn’t have threatened you. You’re here as an… unfortunate… guest. I shouldn’t have pushed you cross that line.”

Kellin shook his head. “I just pointed a gun at you…”

“With no intention to pull the trigger,” Vic interrupted. “You didn’t want to pull the trigger. You were close to, you might as well could have, but deep down you didn’t want to. Fear does strange things to people, Kellin. So does blame and hate. Don’t let yourself get consumed by any of those things and you’ll be fine. You have nothing to fear from us in this house. I throw tantrums, I get angry, but I won’t lay a hand on you, okay? Do you understand what I’m telling you?”

Kellin stared and Vic had no idea what he was thinking. There was no way to decipher what was going on inside Kellin.

“Do you understand?” Vic repeated with force.

“Yes,” Kellin breathed, but still looked unsure.

“Go to bed,” Vic said and helped Kellin up from the floor. “I have a few people coming over in the morning, we’ll try not to wake you. Just try to get some sleep.”

“Vic…”

“No,” Vic argued. “Let’s forget this ever happened.”

Kellin looked like he wanted to say something, but then changed his mind. Vic walked out of room and closed the door behind him.

-

Vic almost fell to the floor as soon as he heard the door close, but forced himself to keep walking. In the living room Jaime sat alone on a couch, standing up the second Vic came into view. Vic tried to smile and felt proud of himself for managing it.

“Vic… Why are you crying?” Jaime asked, stepping closer.

“I’m not,” Vic replied. He wasn’t crying? Was he..? He let his fingertips follow the wet trails on his cheeks and realized Jaime was right.

“I’m crying because…” he trailed off, not knowing how to end the sentence. Because a few minutes ago he was pretty sure he was going to get his head blown out? No, that had happened before and he hadn’t broke down like this. Not even close. Because Kellin had turned on him? No. That wasn’t it either. He shouldn’t care about Kellin like this. He had known him for what? A day? Two? He replayed the scenarios over and over again in his head and Jaime patiently waited without putting any more pressure on him. “ _I can’t do this anymore.”_

“I thought he was going to blow his own brains out,” Vic suddenly said, words spilling out as if beyond his control. “It would have been my fault. He was so close to killing himself, Jaime.”

“How’d you know that, Vic?” Jaime asked carefully.

“The look in his eyes. It was so familiar,” Vic answered so quiet Jaime could barely hear him.

“How come?” Jaime coaxed. “You know you can tell me.”

“There was a time when I saw it every day in the mirror,” Vic choked out after some hesitation, not even sure what was going on anymore. Tears were streaming down his face and Jaime engulfed him in a hug.

“It would have been my fault, Jaime,” Vic muttered when they stepped apart.

“Maybe,” Jaime said and threw himself on a couch. “You should have thought things through before you acted.”

“I know.”

“Then do so from now on.”

“He’ll hate me forever,” Vic promptly stated, earning a raised eyebrow from Jaime.

“No, you just tell yourself that cause you’re afraid of putting some effort into getting to know him and hopefully make him forgive you.”

Vic stared at his friend for a long while, letting his words sink in and be processed. Maybe, just maybe he came to some sort of realization. Snapping out of the moment, he quickly dried off his cheeks with the back of his hand.

“Where’s Mike and Tony?” he asked.

“Outside,” Jaime answered. “Tony had to talk him down.”

“Did you find out if any of Sykes’ guys got hurt earlier?” Vic continued, back in his leader-role.

“No, gonna try again later,” Jaime replied. Vic left the house with a nod, knowing Jaime was trying his best and started the search for his brother and best friend.

 -

He found Tony and Mike sitting in the grass, leaning their backs against the house’s worn out façade. Mike was ripping grass from the lawn, twirling it between his fingers. Tony was sitting close to him, watching him intensely.

“Hey,” Vic greeted quietly to make his presence known. His brother looked up at him with a resolute expression.

“Are you okay?” he asked immediately.

“Yes, I’m fine,” Vic lied.

“No, you’re not you’ve been crying,” Mike countered without batting an eye.

“Thanks for bringing it up, Mike, it was almost as if I didn’t wanna talk about it there for a while,” Vic replied.

“I want to talk about it,” Mike stated with irritation, looking down on the grass straws he ripped to pieces. “I’m going to kill him.”

“Hey!” Vic exclaimed with such a voice that his brother’s eyes immediately focused back on him. “If so much as lay a finger on him I’ll replace you.”

Mike stared. “Replace me?”

“You’ll get other things to do and Noah gets to come here and keep guard. I don’t want you in the house if you’re going to scare the shit out of Kellin every day.”

“He threatened to fucking kill you, Vic!” Mike objected loudly. “He had you at gunpoint!”

“This is not up for discussion!” Vic boomed, then lowered his voice again. “What happened tonight means nothing. I’m okay. If you hold it against Kellin I will send you away.”

“You wouldn’t do that,” Mike said, squinting at Vic. “I’m your brother.”

“Do you really wanna test me?” Vic wondered, holding his brother’s gaze until the younger Fuentes looked away. “Didn’t think so.”

Mike huffed in response, but Vic was too tired to comment on it. He wanted to creep up on the couch and have breakfast. He probably wouldn’t be able to sleep anymore tonight.

“Did you reach Alex?” he asked his brother to change the focus.

“Yeah,” Mike answered. “I’ll pick them up at 6:30 and get them over here.”

“Good,” Vic nodded. “Now go home and get some sleep until then.”

“Vic…” Mike objected but Vic silenced him.

“Go home! Get some sleep. Pick Alex and Jack up and come back with them.”

Mike didn’t look happy, but nodded and rose from where he had been sitting. He gave Vic a hug before walking toward his car. Vic turned to Tony and reached out a hand to help him up. Tony took it.

“Thanks for calming him down,” Vic said as they started to walk.

“No worries,” Tony replied. “He was just worried.”

“And angry,” Vic added, smiling in Tony’s direction.

“And angry,” Tony grinned and shook his head.

Jaime was still awake when they got back inside and looked up at them as they entered.

“So,” Vic said, pulling a hand through his hair. “Anyone hungry?”

“I’m voting for immediate food!” Jaime replied hurriedly and jumped up fromt he couch.

“You are always voting for immediate food, idiot,” Tony grinned, following Vic and Jaime to the kitchen.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Woop! There it goes. Intense? Anyhow, next up is some Jalex, ladies and gentlemen.


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Vic plays tricks on Jack Barakat, Alex Gaskarth is having none of the Fuentes brother's shit and Jaime decides to hide behind a pillow until it all passes.

“Hey, Vic… Vic? Vic, wake up.”

Vic groaned profanities in response and swatted at the hand which was firmly shaking his shoulder. The hand let go, but the voice wouldn’t shut up.

“Vic. It’s 6:30 A.M. Alex and Jack will be here soon, you might want to wake up.”

“Go away, Jaime,” Vic muttered, turning around on the couch. He had just found an extremely comfortable spot when Jaime’s words actually sank in. He turned back again and peered up at his tired-looking friend. “Could you repeat that?”

Jaime smiled, but it didn’t quite reach his eyes. “Alex and Jack will be here in 30 minutes so you might want to get up.”

“Fuck.” Vic tried to sit up before sinking back down again.

“Do you have a plan for Jack and Alex?” Jaime wondered, slapping Vic’s leg. “Hey, don’t fall asleep again.”

“Why not?” Vic whined. “It’s so cozy and I’m so tired.”

“Victor Fuentes. Sometimes I can’t believe you are capable of leading this gang. These are the times I get reminded you’re practically a whiny ass teenager,” Jaime complained.

Vic sat up and glared at him. “Hey. I’m not a teenager. And I’m not whining either.”

Jaime crossed his arms and gave Vic a defiant look.

“Shut up,” Vic grumbled and threw a pillow at Jaime, who laughingly caught it and sent it flying back.

Vic put it back on the couch and sat up straighter, stretching his arms above his head. Suddenly he thought of something.

“Has anyone checked up on Kellin? What if…”

“Calm down,” Jaime interrupted, letting his tired smile show once again. “I’ve been checking on him regularly. He has slept all the time.”

“Oh…” Jaime sat down next to him, leaning back and breathing out deeply.

“You okay?” Vic wondered, briefly glancing at him.

“Yeah,” Jaime answered. “Just tired. I’ve been going for a while.”

“Go to sleep,” Vic said, reaching down on the floor to grab the finished bowl of cereal he had finished before falling asleep.

“No, but you need…”

“That wasn’t a request, Jaime, that was an order,” Vic stated and rose up, steering his steps to the kitchen. When he reached the doorway, he looked over his shoulder only to find Jaime already asleep. Vic smiled to himself, shaking his head. Tony was sitting by the small table in the kitchen, looking ready to fall asleep just as quickly as Jaime.

“Hey Tony, why don’t you get some sleep?” Vic asked as he walked up to the sink. Tony’s eyes snapped to Vic and widened.

“Oh. I didn’t see you come in,” he said, sounding raspy.

“Dude, go and get some sleep. Jaime just went out like a light, follow his example,” Vic suggested, putting his bowl under the pouring, warm water and rinsed it.

“No, I don’t want to go to sleep until Mike gets here,” Tony replied quietly. Vic turned to gaze at him.

“Tony…” he said.

“Yeah?” Tony lifted his head from where he had been resting it against the table.

“It’s okay. Go. Please, don’t fall asleep until you reach the actual couch,” Vic instructed, holding Tony’s gaze. Tony said nothing, but got up from his chair and shuffled to the living room. Vic turned the water off and looked around for a towel as Tony’s head showed up in the doorway again.

“What now, Tony?”

“Jaime got through to his contacts around Sykes’ gang. Nobody died, unsure of injuries,” Tony rambled.

Vic nodded to him. “Thanks.”

Tony disappeared and Vic went back to towel-hunting, thinking about what he was going to tell Alex and above all Jack.

-

Alex Gaskarth was filled with insecurity as he wrapped an arm around his boyfriend’s waist and leaned in close.

“Best behavior now, okay?”

“Don’t worry” was the answer he got, along with a bright smile. Alex rolled his eyes behind his sunglasses and tried to not get irritated at how Jack was unable to take the situation seriously. He could understand it though. Jack had had the fortune of only meeting Vic when he was in a good mood. They had mostly hung out at parties or occasionally football games, but Alex had tried to keep them apart as much as possible. Jack and Vic got along fine, there was no trouble between them, but Alex… He just had a bad feeling about the two. Jack knew who Vic was, what he did, but just as in the current situation he had trouble taking the whole thing seriously. Alex hoped to God Vic would go easy on him. It felt like an eternity passed from the moment Mike landed his fist against the front door of the worn down house they were waiting in front of and the moment Vic opened the door. Vic leaned against the doorway, looking at his guests with a look Alex couldn’t figure out. Alex took off his sunglasses and hung them at the neckline of his t-shirt. Once Vic caught and held Alex’s gaze, Alex knew this would be a tough one. He pulled Jack a bit closer and put on a smile.

“Hi, Vic.”

“Hi Alex,” Vic answered and nodded to Jack. “Jack.” 

Jack saluted him and smiled. Mike slid past Vic into the house.

“Please keep your voices down. Jaime, Tony and a guest of ours are all asleep,” Vic told them before moving out of the way. Alex felt a churning in his stomach as the door closed behind him and Jack. He kept his eyes on Vic, trying to pick up on any of the usual signs. Vic didn’t look particularly angry and didn’t give them the silent treatment. That was how you knew you were in trouble for real – when Vic just looked at you in complete silence. You knew the storm was building up and you knew it would be horrible once it hit and it always did, sooner or later. Just as Vic has said, Tony and Jaime laid on a couch each, asleep. Jaime had put his head on the armrest of the couch and was hugging a pillow. Alex fought the urge to take out his phone and snap a picture of him. It could always be used for blackmailing later. He didn’t have time though, because Vic jumped straight to business.

“Mike and Jack, why don’t you make yourselves comfortable in the kitchen while I have a word with Alex out here?”

Mike exchange a look with Jack before heading for the kitchen. Jack glanced at Alex, who nodded.

“See you in a bit,” Alex whispered and kissed Jack’s cheek. Jack followed Mike and soon disappeared out of sight. The scrambling of chairs was heard and then silence fell. Alex changed the weight from his left foot to his right and fumbled with his hands. Vic stood right across from him, leaning his hip against the back of the couch Jaime slept on.

“Vic…” Alex started, but couldn’t really find a good way to continue the sentence. What did you say to excuse yourself in a situation like this?

“Are you okay?” Vic asked, taking a step forward. Alex’s eyes caught Vic’s in surprise.

“What?!”

“I wondered if you are okay,” Vic repeated. “He cheated on you, Alex. I didn’t expect you two so close to each other when you walked in. Are you sure you are okay?”

“I…” Alex almost felt tears rising in his eyes. Here Vic was – almost certainly having a very pissed off Oliver Sykes on his heels and still the first thing he worried about was if Alex was okay. He knew there were people who saw this as a weakness in Vic, but Alex knew it to be exactly what made Vic such a reliable leader. He always had his priorities straight.

“I’m fine,” Alex replied, daring to send a little smile in Vic’s direction. “Jack and I have a very honest and open relationship. Trust me, it’s all good between us.”

“Okay,” Vic said, raising an eyebrow in disbelief. In a matter of seconds his posture changed and Alex knew they had passed the friendly conversation and was bordering in on the business talk. Vic had his arms crossed and Alex could see the slight tension in his jaw as he clenched his teeth in frustration.

“I’m sorry on his behalf?” Alex tried, his smile dying out. He felt like a kid about to get scolded by an angry parent.

“I’m not angry at you,” Vic announced, holding Alex’s gaze. “Jack is a different story though. This can have consequences more horrible than you can imagine.”

“I would have stopped him if I have known what he was up to,” Alex sighed.

“I know,” Vic replied, thoughtlessly scratching the side of his neck. “I can’t just let this slip, Alex. I wish I could, but…”

“It won’t happen again, Vic,” Alex tried to reason, having a bad feeling creeping up on him.

“Probably not,” Vic agreed, trying his best to keep his voice down to not wake anyone up. “But it has happened. His decision will have some nasty consequences for the rest of us. You were the one who said you didn’t want any involvement whatsoever in my business. I accepted that and have kept you out of it, so then I expect you to stay clear of it! This is not staying clear of it, Alex! This is getting both your asses right into hell. I don’t know how to solve this one, Alex. I really don’t.”

Alex said nothing, just looked at Vic with tired and worried eyes. Vic shook his head, making frustrated noises.

“I can’t afford a war right now,” Vic said and when he saw Alex’s eyes widen in shock as he realized just how delicate the situation was, he quickly added; “Yes. A war. Your boyfriend’s fault.”

“Shit,” Alex said under his breath.

“I’m gonna have a serious talk with him,” Vic stated. “I need you to stay out here, okay?”

Alex went cold. “What are you going to do?”

Vic didn’t answer, just steered his steps toward the kitchen.

“Victor Fuentes, answer me!” Alex hissed as loud as he dared, trying not to wake anyone up. Vic looked at him over his shoulder, but didn’t say anything yet again.

“I’ll kick your ass if you hurt him,” he quietly, but angrily threatened. Vic closed the door to the kitchen. Alex felt like the Berlin wall just got raised, leaving him and Jack on different sides of it. Whatever was going to happen from now, Alex wouldn’t be able to help.

-

As soon as Vic had closed the door, he put on his professional facial expression and decided have a bit of fun. Or well… Jack was sitting at the small dinner table, leaning back in his chair, looking fairly relaxed. Mike was standing by the kitchen counter, looking bored and picking on his nails. When he realized Vic had entered, he straightened up and with only a look asked how Vic wanted to do this. As Vic walked passed him, he lay a hand on his shoulder and squeezed lightly, meaning ‘follow my lead’. He stood opposite to Jack, leaning his closed fists on the table, giving Jack an irritated stare.

“Did you sleep with Oliver Sykes’ girlfriend?” he asked in a disinterested voice.

“Might have,” Jack said, shrugging. “Look, I know I shouldn’t have gotten involved with anything that has to do with Oli, okay? I just… You know. I had the opportunity, and she is really pretty and a real sweetheart…”

“She’s dead,” Vic deadpanned.

“What?!” Jack exclaimed, glancing at Mike. Vic looked over his shoulder to see Mike at the same place he had been standing earlier. Now he stared resolutely at Jack without saying anything. Vic turned back.

“They found her two hours ago with one bullet in her head, two bullets in her heart.”

Jack opened his mouth, but closed it again without saying anything. Vic could literally see the colour drain from his face. He wore an expression of complete and utter shock.

“I... I…” he stammered. The ease with which he had carried himself earlier was gone. Vic felt bad for a split second, but then reminded himself that Jack had deserved this.

“I hope it was worth it,” Vic said in a low voice, as Jack avoided his look by staring down at the table. “This is a direct consequence of the choice you made. Jaime got grazed by a bullet. A girl is dead. The death toll is just going to rise from here.”

He paused for a moment, letting the information sink in. “He’s going to come after you.”

Jack’s head snapped up again. “What?!”

“This is the deal,” Vic said and Jack looked away again, pulling his hands through his hair. Vic slammed his fists against the table, making Jack jump.

“Are you paying attention?!” he roared, mentally hoping he didn’t just wake anyone up. Jack nodded, now starting to look frightened.

“I’ve talked to Oli. He is willing to forgive me and Pierce the Veil for attacking his guys last night, if we hand you over to him. This dispute is not between our crew and his crew. It’s between you and Oli. I have to keep my men safe,” Vic explained to Jack, whose eyes got bigger than Vic thought was possible.

“What the fuck!?” Jack exclaimed loudly, rising from his chair. Mike took a few steps forward and so did Vic, which made Jack sit back down. “You can’t do that! You can’t do that to me! Alex would never…”

“Keep your voice down, damn it!” Vic hissed to him, leaning over the table again. “We don’t want to wake people up.”

“You can’t do this,” Jack argued, lowering his voice. “You can’t. Oli will kill me.”

Vic straightened up and looked at Jack for a long time before he answered in a completely calm, leveled voice: “Wouldn’t that be fair? She had to pay the price. Why should you get away when she didn’t?”

Jack said nothing. The silence hanging in the air was absolutely terrifying to him, but it was music for Vic’s ears. When he looked at Jack he knew he had gotten his message across. Vic turned his back to Jack and looked at Mike.

“I’ll go get Alex so they can say goodbye to each other. Make sure he doesn’t go anywhere in the meantime,” he said, getting a nod from Mike. Vic exited the room with a smile dancing on his lips. Jaime was awake and looked up from the couch when Vic entered the living room, closing the kitchen door behind him again.

“Everything okay?” he wondered. Vic nodded, walking up to Alex who looked anxious.

“What have you done?” he asked with obvious irritation.

Vic decided to avoid the question. “Just go in there and tell him everything we just told him was a lie. Come get me when he has calmed down.”

Alex narrowed his eyes at Vic. “What did you tell him?”

“Just go, please,” Vic snapped and Alex hurried out of the room to his boyfriend. Jaime looked after him.

“What did you tell him, though?”

“Oh nothing much,” Vic smiled to him. “Just that Oli had killed his girlfriend and that we are going to hand Jack over to him in exchange for keeping the peace.”

“Oh my god,” Jaime groaned, pulling the pillow he had been hugging earlier over his head and turning his back to Vic. Tony snorted with laughter from the other couch.

“Oh, so you’re awake,” Vic grinned to Tony.

“Trying not to be, but it’s difficult,” Tony answered, smiling, but still with his eyes closed. Vic couldn’t hold back a laugh. 

-

It didn’t take long after Jack’s exclaimed of “The sick fucking bastards!” until Alex stormed back out of the kitchen. His eyes screamed murder and he pointed a threatening finger at Vic.

“You shithead!” he yelled. “If you ever do that again, I’m going to…”

“If your boyfriend ever gets mixed in with our problems again and calls us to help him out of it, I will not go as easy on him as I did this time,” Vic interrupted.

“It’s a fucking wonder I haven’t ripped your head off yet,” Alex heaved with fury. “He’s really upset.”

“I wasn’t lying completely though,” Vic said, walking closer to Alex feeling fairly sure his friend wouldn’t try to rip out his intestines and shove them down his throat. “I haven’t called Sykes yet, I don’t know what he wants from us to make up for this.”

“You can’t hand Jack over to him, Vic,” Alex argued loudly, gesturing wildly.

“Of course I won’t!” Vic exclaimed. “I’m not stupid, Alex. You know I couldn’t send him to his death. You are family to me and he is family to you. I’m not a monster. Calm down.”

Alex’s shoulders fell into a slouch and he breathed a sigh of relief.

“Can I look now?” Jaime wondered, glancing at them from under the pillow.

“Yeah,” Vic said. “We’re all good.”

Alex was hyperventilating, trying to calm down from his fit of rage, clenching and unclenching his fists. Vic watched him pace over the living room floor, knowing he’d soon be over the little incident. Alex wasn’t the bitter type.

“When you’re done being angry I’d like to call Sykes. I want you and Jack close by, in case I need you,” Vic informed, looking around. Mike who stood in the doorway was nodding, as was Jaime.

“Is he okay in there?” Vic asked Mike, who glanced over his shoulder.

“Yeah, just give him a moment and maybe he’ll stop shaking,” he answered with a shrug.

Vic was about to break into a laugh when he met Alex’s gaze and quickly decided to bite the insides of his cheeks and call it all off. He wasn’t able to stop himself from grinning though. With an exasperated sound he stalked off to the kitchen again. Mike had to jump out of the doorway to avoid being hit by the door as Alex slammed it shut behind him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Woop! Jalex is gonna be in at least the next chapter too, and it's gonna be happier. Yay!


	8. Chapter 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Where a phonecall goes wrong, there's a nice surprise and also vicious video-gaming going on.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Aaaaaah, sorry this took a while. I ahve important things to say also, so please check the notes at the end. But first: ENJOY!

The number shining up at him from his phone was familiar and it always made a ball of anxiety bundle up inside of him. Vic wasn’t sure what was going to happen and he didn’t like not having control. He was still a bit pissed at Jack for causing so much trouble, so much added stress. It was all unnecessary. PTV had better things to do – like finding the fucker who made plans with Sykes – instead of running around on the tips of their toes being scared of the rival. The last thing Vic wanted right now was to swallow his pride for Oli Sykes – but if that was what he had to do to stop a war, or a death, then so be it. He took a look around the room. Mike was drumming a quick rhythm against his legs, Tony was sitting on the kitchen counter looking worried and Jaime was just sitting at the table, drinking milk. He was the one who seemed the least bothered by the situation. Then again, you could never really tell with Jaime. He probably was worried, he just didn’t show it. He was the dude in the group who always considered the glass half full, the dude who kept everyone else in line. He was definitely one of the most important persons in the whole gang. Alex and Jack was chilling on a couch in the living room. Vic took a deep breath, pressed call and waited patiently while the signals went through. He knew it’d take some time before Oli picked up. Eventually a familiar voice with British pronunciation answered;

“Vic… That took you long enough…”

“Had some things I needed to deal with, Oli,” Vic answered calmly.

“I figured,” Oli said. Vic tried to find any clues in the tone of his voice, but there was none. Oli sounded as calm and self-confident as one can be.

“I hope the incidents tonight haven’t screwed up all we’ve built over these past few weeks,” Vic said, glancing around at his friends who looked back at him with concern. Here it went.

“I hope you’re joking?” Oli exclaimed, irritation leaking into his voice.

“From what I’ve heard none of you got injured in the shooting,” Vic hurried to say. “I’ve dealt with my end of the problem.”

“There’s no ‘my end’ of this problem, Fuentes,” Oli hissed back over the phone. “Everything about this problem is your fault.”

Vic bit his tongue. He wanted to make a remark about how Oli’s girlfriend actually had wanted to have sex with Jack and therefore had as much responsibility as he had, but knew that would probably throw every possibility of settlement overboard.

“Look, my guys made a mistake, but they weren’t there to go after you or anyone from your gang, Oli. Our friend called for them and they responded. Wouldn’t you have done that for one of your friends?” Vic had no idea if this was an approach even worth trying out, but why not? To his surprise Oli actually fell silent at the other end of the line. Vic shot Jaime a worried look, and his friend motioned at him to put on speakerphone. Vic hesitantly shook his head.

“I would be lying if I said I don’t want to demand that you hand over Jack Barakat to me, but I’m not bloody stupid,” Oli spoke up, taking back Vic’s full attention. “I know you’d never do that to your mate.”

“I can’t do that for you, Oli,” Vic sighed.

Silence fell and Vic shifted his weight from his right to his left foot, pulling a hand through his hair.

“So what do we do, Oli? What do you want?” Vic sighed. “I don’t want a war on my hands.”

"I want to never have to see Jack Barakat in my lands ever again," Oli said. 

"I can make that work," Vic nodded to himself. "But that's not all, is it?"

“Guess you’re gonna have to owe me one, Fuentes,” Oli replied, still sounding totally in control.

“What?” Vic spat out before he could stop himself.

“You owe me one,” Oli repeated patiently. “Let’s put this aside for now.”

“I’m not a big fan of owing favours to anyone…” Vic started off.

"T'was nice talking to you, Vic, but for god's sake keep your guys out of my territory," Oli interrupted and then promptly hung up.

Vic stood still with the phone pressed against his ear, probably looking like an idiot. A very, very confused idiot, that is. Eventually he lowered and phone, but didn’t put it away yet. Shit. Shit. Shit.

“What did he say?” Mike wondered.

“What’s wrong?” Jaime asked.

“Something’s off…” Vic mumbled to himself, waving at the rest of the boys to be quiet, trying to desperately work out different ways in which this situation could backfire. “Owing someone” was a thing to be avoided and rivals didn’t ask for favours in this line of business.

“Vic, say something,” Tony urged him and Vic looked up.

“He just dropped it.”

“What?!” Mike exclaimed, raising his eyebrows. “What the hell?”

“Something’s off…” Vic said again, scratching his neck. “He told me Jack will never enter his territory again and that I owe him one. I don’t owe anyone anything. This is not good.”

Jaime scowled. “We need to warn HQ, in case he plans to try taking one of us out. ‘You owe me one’ seems more like a threat than anything else.”

“We need to call Noah,” Vic said with afterthought. “I think we can trust him.”

“Yeah, as long as he doesn’t go spill his guts to Max,” Mike grumbled.

“Someone will have to tell him not to,” Vic said, shooting his brother a glare. Mike shrugged. Vic also had supsciousion against Max, thinking the withdrawn, hot-tempered memeber of PTV could be the one who spilled his guts to Oli Sykes. He trusted Noah though, even if Noah also were friends with Max. Vic and Noah had met in high school, and dropped out together.

“What do we do with Jack and Alex?” Tony asked.

Vic thought for a moment. “I don’t think he’d go after them. I didn’t get that feeling, if he is coming for someone then it’s someone from PTV. I don’t want to risk it though, someone needs to stay with them for a while. Tell Noah to bring someone and stay with them until tomorrow. After that it should be fine.”

“Sure,” Tony yawned. “I’ll call him right now.”

“Hey, Tony, why don’t you go home and get some sleep?” Mike asked and walked up to the counter Tony was sitting on and leaned against it.

“M’fine,” Tony mumbled.

“Okay, listen up,” Vic said, immediately getting all attention. “Tony, go home and get some sleep. Come back tonight and switch with Jaime. Jaime, call Noah. Tell him that when you go home tonight, you’ll bring Alex and Jack with you. Tell him to meet you where the road here reaches the highway. There you give Alex and Jack over to him and he follows them home and stays there overnight. Also, Tony, would you mind swinging by my house and bring my guitar back here with you?”

Tony nodded and Vic threw his house keys to him. 

“What are you going to do?” Mike wondered as Tony jumped down from the counter and Jaime rose from his chair, phone in hand.

“I’m…” Vic interrupted himself and smiled, remembering Jaime's word from the night before. “I’m going to put in some effort.”

He glanced at Jaime and was met by the biggest, most earnest smile he’d seen in a long time.

 

-

 

Kellin awoke slowly, his first thought being how long he’d slept. When carefully opening his eyes, he noticed he was alone in the bed, and the room. The room was light, the sunshine had started to slip in through the blinds covering the window. Kellin fixed his gaze at the ceiling, for no particular reason. He asked himself if he was really ready to face another day in this house and found himself conflicted. He was still worried Vic, or well mostly Mike, would still be angry at him and maybe cause a scene. Kellin groaned and pulled the cover over his head. He was stupid and not ready or this and… He let his thoughts travel back to the precious night. He had been so scared. He hadn’t stopped trembling until he fell asleep. Today he felt rested and fairly calm though. It felt as if his emotional slate was somehow clean and he would be able to start a new circle of bottling shit up until he had a new breakdown and then continue on like that. Like he always did. He closed his eyes and remembered the promises and apologies Vic had made last night. _You have nothing to fear from us in this house. I throw tantrums, I get angry, but I won’t lay a hand on you, okay? Do you understand what I’m telling you?_

Kellin had understood. He had listened. He just didn’t know what to believe about it yet. The look in Vic’s eyes had been honest though. He had looked as broken as Kellin felt in that moment. Maybe something, after all, would tie the two together. Their brokenness, their rough and sharp edges. Kellin pulled the cover away and decided he couldn’t hide away in the bedroom forever, also he was hungry. He swung his feet over the side of the bed and casted a glance at the clock on the bedside table. It blared 9 AM at him, but that wasn’t the interesting part. On the bedside table stood a tray with a really nice and big breakfast. There was an egg, two sandwiches, a glass of juice. Not bad. Kellin noticed a note by the glass.

 _I thought you might be hungry._  
Two friends of mine are here,   
come out and say hi if you feel like it.   
\- Vic

Kellin stared at the note and made his decision. He took a bite off the sandwich and walked over to his bag, digging up a clean t-shirt and a pair of ripped, skinny, black jeans. He slipped the clothes on, finished his sandwich and the juice, then took the tray with him and carefully opened the bedroom door. Loud voices were heard from the living room and for a moment Kellin started to regret this sudden decision to socialize. Though before he managed to talk himself out of it, he started to walk with hesitant steps. He paused briefly at the corner, where the hallway ended and the living room started. The guys had turned the couches around, so instead of facing each other, they stood next to each other, both facing the TV. Jaime and Mike was on one of them, two unknown boys on the other. It had to be the friends Vic had mentioned. What had they called them last night… Alex? There was definitely someone named Alex, but the other one was unclear. None of the boys had spotted him, they were too busy staring at the TV, yelling profanities both at the device and at each other.

“JACK YOU FUCKING CHEATER!” Mike shouted angrily, standing up from the couch, holding an xbox-controller in his hands. Never once did his eyes leave the screen in front of him, even though he started to jump up and down on the floor.

“I AM NOT CHEATING!” one of the unknown boys yelled back, wide smile on his lips. Kellin figured he had to be Jack, leaving the other one to be Alex then. Alex sat close to Jack, their arms touching, even though they were both engulfed in the game. Jaime sat silent, completely concentrated.

“Mike, sit your ass back down, you’re distracting me with your movements!” Alex said.

Mike didn’t answer, but his button-pushing intensified, along with his jumps. Suddenly Jack and Alex called out of joy and victory.

“OH BUT FOR CHRIST SAKE!” Jaime yelled, gesturing at the Tv, while Mike threw his controller on the floor.

“JACK I WILL KILL YOU. YOU CHEATED!” he shouted.

“Time to run, babe,” Alex said, leaning in and kissing Jack’s cheek.

“What do you..? OH!” Jack glanced at Mike and jumped up from the couch just as Mike leaped after him. This resulted in a wild chase, Jack first, darting out into the kitchen, screaming at the top of his lungs. Vic decided to walk through the door the exact same moment as Mike was passing through.

“OUT OF THE WAY BROTHER!” Mike called out and Vic threw himself to the side, barely avoiding falling over.

“Jesus fuck!” he exclaimed, sitting down next to Alex, handing him a glass of water. “What are they doing?”

“No idea,” Alex sighed. Vic looked up in just that moment and caught Kellin’s eyes. For a sohrt second Kellin’s heart dropped and he felt like running back to the bedroom and lock the door again. Not that locking it would help, as Vic had made clear last night. To Kellin’s surprise Vic just smiled to him and nudged Alex with his elbow.

“Hey, Kellin! Come here, say hi to Alex.”

Alex looked around with confusion and Kellin realized there was no going back now. Alex stood up and smiled. Kellin balanced the tray on one hand, and shook Alex’s hand with the other.

“Kellin Quinn,” he said carefully.

“Alex Gaskarth, nice to meet you!” Alex beamed. He was taller than Kellin, dressed in a white t-shirt and dark grey jeans with a white pattern of the American flag on them.

“Nice pants,” Kellin commented, glancing at Vic who grinned.

“Thanks!” Alex answered, spinning around, showing them off.

“He practically lives in them,” Vic declared, chuckling at his friend.

“I do not!” Alex argued immediately. “Also, how would you know, you barely have time for me anymore?”

“Hey Jack!” Vic called out.

“Not now!” Jack yelled back from the kitchen. Kellin looked at the tray in his hands and then up at Vic.

“So… Eh. Thank for the breakfast,” he managed to press out.

“No problem,” Vic replied. Jaime laughed softly behind them and Vic sent him a death glare. Kellin wondered what was so funny about that. He was about to ask, but all his plans got interrupted once a loud bang followed by three thuds were heard, along with a frantic yell from Jack. Alex turned on his heels, staring at the doorway of the kitchen. Vic stood up, also staring.

“Jack..?” Alex called out fumblingly. No answer was heard. Just as both Vic and Alex looked ready to run out to the next room, Mike came through the doorway, carrying Jack over his shoulder. Jack was angrily punching his back, but Mike didn’t seem bothered. He was grinning widely, obviously counting this as a win.

“Let me down!” Jack demanded, but was met with laughter.

“This is what you get for cheating!” Mike replied, starting to swing around, earning an ‘aaaaaah’ in response.

“I didn’t cheat, it’s not my fault your so god damn terrible!” Jack argued.

Mike growled quietly. Alex cleared his throat.

“Mike… Put my boyfriend down.”

“Uh-uh.” Mike shook his hands. Alex shifted his weight from one foot to the other and put a hand on his hip.

“Give him to me,” he said in a low voice, sounding slightly threatening. Kellin looked with great interest as Mike caved under Alex’s glare and slowly and reluctantly sat Jack down on the floor. Jack leaped over to Alex, climbing up on his back. Thankfully Alex seemed to be prepared and caught Jack as he jumped onto his back. Jack snuggled his face against Alex’s neck, then he looked at Mike.

“Bad Mexican,” he hissed in a not very threatening manner.

The whole room burst into laughter at the shocked look on Mike’s face. Vic grabbed Kellin’s wrist carefully, pulling him down next to Vic on the couch. Kellin looked around at the weird gathering of people and found himself smiling. He didn’t quite know why yet, but he had a good feeling about this day. Perhaps this was the day when his luck would turn.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Soooo. Sorry if that was horrible...  
> There's gonna be a bit longer between the updates now cause tomorrow I go out on four weeks of practical placement (I'm TERRIFIED) but I'll try to write as much as I can anyhow, just warning you that it might not be as often as it has been. Love you all <3


	9. Chapter 9

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Great food, soul-searching and some cuteness. Vic is definitely involved in all three.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I SURVIVED THE FIRST WEEK OF MY INTERNSHIP!!!! :D

 “I’m not going to take no for an answer,” Alex said with force. “I’m not joking about. Jack, help me for god’s sake!”

“I’m just going to stay quiet in this discussion because I’m slightly intimidated by these fucking…uh… I mean… fabulous Mexicans,” Jack said, then murmured; “But you know exactly how I feel about this subject.”

“I’m not going all the way to town to buy you guys pizza,” Mike declared. “No chance. Why can’t you just accept Vic’s cooking? He’s awesome.”

“This is not about Vic’s ability to cook, this is about my urgent need for pizza!” Alex tried to get his point across with desperation. He turned his pleading eyes to Kellin. “Kellin. Do something. Anything.”

“I’d like to try out Vic’s food,” Kellin said, hoping to god he wasn’t blushing.

“Oh my god,” Alex called out in despair. “You are all fucking hopeless.”

He flopped down on the couch, almost crushing Jack.

“I give up!” he yelled, laying his arm over his eyes to hide his face. He muttered something totally incoherent, but Jack laughed out loud to whatever it was. Kellin looked at them and shook his head. They looked so happy and comfortable together. Looking at them made Kellin yearn for a closeness like theirs. Jaime was outside talking to someone on the phone again – his phone had been ringing constantly for the past hour. Every time the signal went of Vic froze, and eventually Jaime had gone outside and stayed there to spare Vic unnecessary inconvenience. Mike and Kellin was currently sitting in the second couch (Kellin had decided Mike probably did not want to kill him after all, or had just gotten strict orders not to. In case of the last option, he was a good actor and could have fooled anyone) and Vic was sitting on the arm rest of it.

“Well,” he said, jumping down from his rather unstable spot. “I think there is some pizza in the freezer that you can warm up in the oven.”

Alex glared at him. “That’s not real pizza.”

“That’s better than no pizza,” Jack piped up and Alex hit him playfully on the back of his head. Then he looked at the ceiling and seemed to be in deep thought. After a while of having everyone’s eyes on him, he made his decision.

“That’s true.”

“Finally,” Mike breathed, leaning his head back and closing his eyes. “I thought this discussion would never end.”

“I’m going to need some help in the kitchen,” Vic announced as he disappeared into aforementioned room. The familiar sound of the door of the fridge being opened made Mike snap back from his moment of relief. He turned his head to Kellin and smiled.

“Go help him,” he said, nodding toward the kitchen.

“I suck at cooking,” Kellin replied, not exactly feeling comfortable being stuck in the kitchen alone with Vic for an unknown period of time. Conversation was something they hadn’t really tried out so far.

“Don’t care,” Mike answered. “I’m too lazy for this shit.”

Kellin decided not to argue with the younger Fuentes and therefore, with a reluctant groan rose from the couch and shuffled out in the kitchen. Vic was standing with his back to the door, leaning into the fridge to reach something. The kitchen counter was already full of stuff that looked like fresh vegetables, spices and chicken. Kellin sneaked past Vic and leaned on the counter, suspiciously eyeing the groceries. 

“This looks very healthy,” he said bluntly, making Vic jump of shock. The shorter boy whirled around with widened eyes.

“Don’t sneak up on me like that!” he scolded, holding a hand over his heart. “Jesus Christ.”

“Sorry,” Kellin replied quietly, glancing at the counter again.

“Also, this is healthy,” Vic announced, lifting milk and some other bottles from the fridge. “…and it tastes like heaven.”

“We’ll see,” Kellin said with skepticism.

“Can you get the biggest pot in the cupboard over there?” Vic asked and pointed. “Bring two knives too.”

Kellin followed Vic’s instructions and opted for cutting up yellow pepper, tomatoes and other vegetables while Vic proceeded with cooking the chicken and preparing some kind of clear soup. The silence weighed on the boys’ shoulders and eventually Kellin took upon himself to say something.

“You can be a very relaxed and laid back group of people.” Well. That was perhaps not the best ice-break he could have come up with, but to be honest with himself, Kellin was happy that anything at all rolled of his tongue that was somewhat coherent.

Vic laughed lightly. “What did you expect?”

“Well, you set the bar pretty high in the stereotypical gang-behaviour,” Kellin pointed out and in the corner of his eye he could see Vic cringe.

“Yeah, you have a point,” Vic said. “We’re most often like this though. When we’re not on business we’re just like everyone else. Just like teachers have to put up some kind of façade when they walk into school, we have to step into a role when we show in public. You have to let people know you’re serious.”

Kellin nodded. “I can get that. How long have you been… You know?”

Vic glanced over at Kellin and scowled. “How long have I been what?”

“In charge of Pierce the Veil?”

“Oh…” Vic thought for a moment, intently stirring the soup. “Unofficially two years, officially one year.”

“What does that even mean?” Kellin wondered, shoving pieces of tomato to the side to give space for some more yellow pepper. 

“It I ran this gang before anyone even knew. Our last president was… a troubled man. During his last year he couldn’t make decisions, so I did. In his name,” Vic explained, throwing some spices into the pot. “How’s it going with the tomatoes?”

“Done,” Kellin said and handed the chopping-board to Vic so he could pour the tomatoes into the soup. “So you haven’t been in charge for very long then.”

“In our world, two years are quite some time. One year is… average. If you make it through your first year that usually means you’ve got what it takes to lead until they day you end up in prison or die. We had one president…” Vic interrupted himself by starting to laugh. Kellin looked at him with amazement and felt a smile tugging at the corners of his mouth.

“Sorry, it just, I just had the most amazing flashback. Where was I?” Vic rambled before finding his track again. “Oh right! We had a president a few years back who didn’t even last twenty four hours. He used to sleep with a gun under his pillow – the idiot – and on the same night as he was voted the new pres, it went off while he was asleep.

“He shot himself in the head by accident?” Kellin gaped. Vic nodded. “Within 24 hours of becoming president?!”

“Yes,” Vic confirmed, sounding serious. “It must have been a sign from God. That prick would probably have been the end of us.”

“You’re religious?” Kellin questioned with surprise.

“Yes!” Vic answered calmly, sending a smile in Kellin’s direction. “Is everything I say shocking to you?”

Kellin didn’t answer, just shook his head. He thought about it for a moment, but couldn’t find any good answer to the hundreds of questions that popped into his head.

“I know this is totally none of my…”

“Hey, can I get all the other vegetables?” Vic interrupted and walked over, taking the chopping-board away from Kellin. He walked back to the pot where the soup was cooking. He poured the vegetables in the cooking liquid and soon to follow were the prepared chicken. When Vic was done, Kellin started again;

“I know it’s none of my business, but how can you be religious while living the life you live?”

Vic turned his back against the stove and gazed at Kellin. His brown eyes were burning with passion and something else… Something Kellin couldn’t put his finger on. Kellin tried to pick up on anything in the silence that hung between them, anything that could tell him if he had crossed a line, but there was nothing to be found. Vic was just standing there, seemingly in a debate with himself. His posture was relaxed and he seemed to be content, if not happy even. It suited the boy, being like this. Kellin noted a range of things, while Vic was wrapped up in his own mind. Like the exact shade of Vic’s eyecolour, or the way he furrowed his eyebrows slightly when he thought realy hard about something, or how the sunlight made his hair glisten or. Hold the fuck up. Kellin snapped out of whatever the heck he had gotten stuck in and decided to distract himself by washing off the knives and the chopping-board. It took a while longer, but when Vic finally said something, Kellin could hear he had picked the words well and with much afterthought.

“My parents are religious, they passed it on to me and my brother. Mike doesn’t believe though. He never has.” Vic stopped for a moment, smiling at something Kellin didn’t know. “My life has nothing to do with my faith. If I didn’t lead this gang, someone else would. I can only do my best with the life I was given. I look out from my brother and my family, my gang and my friends. I stay as honest as I can. I don’t do corruption or trafficking.”

Kellin found himself listening with honest interest. It was fascinating. Vic and his life was fascinating. The more he got to see that weren’t an angry douche with an unfortunate life, the more he wanted to know.

“I don’t expect you to understand,” Vic continued on, turning back to the pot, stirring for a while. “It is complicated, just like everything else in life. Things are the way they are. The only thing you can do is to hold on for all you’re worth and try to enjoy the ride.”

“I won’t say I understand,” Kellin said. “But I listen to what you’re saying and I accept it. I don’t believe in God, but if you do – I’ll respect it.”

“Thanks,” Vic mumbled quietly, then turned back to cooking, staying silent most of the time.

 

-

 

It was a bit uncomfortable now, wasn’t it? Oh dear, oh dear. Why had he said all those things? He didn’t open up to people like that. What was going on?! Vic groaned internally. What was it with Kellin that made Vic so weak and unthoughtful? Vic had set up rules for himself. It was 100% necessary to survive, to keep himself disciplined. He did not speak about PTV with people not in PTV. One exception to that rule could be Alex at times, but the childhood friend had made Vic promise to keep him as far away from Vic’s business as possible, and Vic had sworn. He didn’t talk about himself with other people either. He had friends, he had his brother, and he had his gang and his family. It was enough. Leading a gang was solitary existence, but he couldn’t afford to make mistakes, to expose himself through other human beings. Also, dragging innocents into the mess that was his life was something he dreaded. He hated the mere thought of it. So why the hell was he pulling Kellin closer and closer to the fire? Vic looked down into the soup and saw no answer. It looked good though, he had probably succeeded. He whirled around and glanced at Kellin on his way out of the room. He could see the tension in his shoulders and knew he has worried he had wronged Vic yet again. Vic ignored this though and passed him.

“Take out the pizza in ten minutes if I’m not back by then.”

He left hurriedly, not leaving any room for Kellin to protest or ask any questions. Vic walked through the living room with his eyes clearly set on the front door, so Alex, Jack and his brother ignored him and let him slip out into the warm night without speaking to him. Jaime sat on the steps outside the door. Vic took a deep breath as he closed the door behind him and sank down next to Jaime. They sat in silence for a while, and Vic took the opportunity to actually take in how beautiful it was out here. On one side of them there were trees at the height of their verdure and on the other a big filed with high grass and sporadically growing flowers swayed in the light wind. The sun was low in the sky, the sunset was just an hour or two away.

“What’s going on?” Jaime asked quietly, not really wanting to break the peace.

“Something’s wrong with me,” Vic sighed, leaning his elbows against a higher step.

“Care to elaborate?”

“I talked to him, Jaime,” Vic groaned, wanting to lie down and not get up again.

“Talked to..? Oh. You mean Kellin?”

“Of course I mean Kellin!” Vic snapped.

“Hey!” Jaime said in a warning tone. “No need to snap at me. I’m trying to help here. What’s wrong with talking though? It’s quite common.”

Vic groaned again and looked up at his friend. “I told him things about me. About PTV. Nothing major, but still. Things.”

Jaime looked terribly confused. “Yes? I still don’t see the probable.”

“I don’t do that, Jaime!” Vic exclaimed. “I don’t talk about myself, I don’t talk about PTV. I don’t even think about letting people in. I’m an idiot. We can’t let people in our lives.”

Jaime blinked a few times before answering in a voice dropping with disbelief. “Are you joking?”

“Why would I be joking?! I have everyone I need in my life. I shouldn’t drag innocent people into my hell.”

“Firstly, this is not hell,” Jaime argued. “You’re over-reacting. This is a rough patch in an otherwise fairly okay life. It happens to everyone, even fucking temps. You are not such a special snowflake as you might think.”

“Temps doesn’t put their lovers life in danger just by existing near them,” Vic bit back, then proceeded with biting his tongue.

“Lovers? I thought we were discussing friends?” Jaime said, just as calmly as before.

“We are. It just slipped out,” Vic defended himself.

“Are you falling for him?” Jaime wondered, looking down at Vic.

“No! Jesus Christ, no. I…” Vic trailed off, covering his face with his hand.

“Are you afraid you’re going to fall for him?”

Vic closed his eyes and let himself sink down on the steps. It wasn’t comfortable, but the situation craved him laying down. He decided to chop up the question into parts, it was too overwhelming to just answer. Was he scared? Probably. Vic knew himself well and even if he has always been worthless at lying to himself. Jaime, on top of that, had a capability to bring out the truth no matter how deep it was buried. He was perhaps the one who knew Vic best, with an exception of Vic’s younger brother of course. Vic was scared. He let that sink in for a few seconds, before asking himself the natural next question: Of what? Kellin. The name came to the surface of his mind before the question was even finished. Victor Fuentes was scared of Kellin Quinn.

“I’m scared of him,” Vic said quietly.

Jaime nodded. “Why? In what way?”

Vic thought, searched himself. “I’m not sure. He’s in my life temporarily. Our paths are just crossing for the moment, soon they’ll continue on in different directions.”

“You don’t know that,” Jaime pointed out. Vic said nothing.

“You’re scared of getting to know him and of him getting to know you. I don’t know if it’s because you think he’ll see who you are and then back away, run for his life or… Or that he’ll like and accept you and then have to leave. You haven’t had much outside this gang except for Alex. I understand if it’s scary.”

Vic continued to say nothing, but he knew Jaime was right. Jaime was almost always right.

“It’s okay to want other things, Vic. It’s okay for you to have something for yourself, something you don’t share with the rest of PTV.”

“I know…” Vic mumbled, opening his eyes and turning to meet Jaime’s gaze. He could clearly see the doubt in his friend’s eyes.

“I don’t think you do,” Jaime said, slowly getting up from the steps. He went back inside and left Vic alone for a moment of soul-searching.

 

-

 

“I’m so full I think I might be sick,” Mike groaned, sprawled out taking up two thirds of the couch. Vic and Kellin are sharing the other third, trying their best not to be uncomfortable with the closeness.  

“That was actually delicious,” Alex agreed. “Can I get the left-overs? I can eat that at work tomorrow.”

“You’re not going to work tomorrow,” Vic said and grinned. “You’re staying home for safety reasons. You can have the left-overs anyway though.”

“Thank you, chef Fuentes, how kind of you,” Alex smiled back, carding his hands through Jack’s hair. Jack had his head in Alex’s lap and his legs swung over the end of the couch. Jaime sat on the other end, looking at them with fondness.

“What if I also want the left-overs?” Mike whined, earning a death-glare from Alex.

“Don’t’ even dare try to take that food away from me, Fuentes. I’ll fight you!”

“I’d win that fight,” Mike countered.

“I’ll cook something else tomorrow,” Vic promised, patting his brother’s knee.

“Good,” Mike said triumphantly.

“You’re wrong about the fight though,” Jack butted in. “Alex would probably take you.”

“Sorry, but I’m having trouble seeing that,” Kellin carefully chimed in.

“I actually don’t know,” Vic said thoughtfully.

Mike inspected Alex and then shook his head. “I’ll take you easily.”

“You’ve never seen me in a fight,” Alex pointed out.

“True,” Mike said. “But…”

“Enough about fighting!” Jaime broke in. “I wanna watch a movie.”

“Totally!” Vic said. “Just as one final note though; Alex would probably win.”

“You lack of faith in me is hurtful, brother,” Mike muttered.

“Big Hero 6?” Jaime suggested, trying to end the conversation. Everybody agreed and soon the movie was rolling. They all sat in silence, intently watching the movie. The only interruption was when Jaime disappeared to the kitchen and came back with four bowls of popcorn. Jaime and Mike got one each, Jack and Alex shared one and Vic and Kellin shared one. Vic watched Kellin in the corner of his eye and found himself intrigued by the black-haired boy. The way his smile reached his eyes and the sound of his laugh made Vic feel like someone wrapped a warm blanket round his insides. He realized he was out in deep water, but for the moment, he couldn’t really care. He pushed all thoughts of PTV, Oli Sykes and retaliation to the back of his mind and allowed himself to have fun.  Without thinking, he laid an arm around Kellin’s shoulders. He didn’t realize what he had done until Kellin tensed up. Vic was seconds away from panic when Kellin suddenly relaxed again and leaned ever so slightly into Vic, who thought he would die from emotional distress. Eventually he noticed Kellin’s eyelids getting heavier and heavier, and considering their night he wasn’t surprised. Kellin fell into a light sleep half-way through the movie, leaning his head on Vic’s shoulder. Vic froze, not sure what to do. Thankfully, he caught Jaime’s gaze and Jaime signaled ‘take it easy’. Vic took a breath and decided he liked it. When the movie ended, Alex grinned widely at the sight of Vic and Kellin.

“You’re going to be so cute together,” he announced.

“Shut your whore mouth,” Vic snapped back immediately.

“Such foul language!” Alex laughed, glancing at Jack who grinned widely. “Kellin must’ve been really tired, that was a good movie.”

“It was an intense night,” Vic sighed, trying not to think about it. Alex and Jack doubled over laughing.

“I bet it was,” Jack eventually managed to press out and Vic rolled his eyes.

“Don’t even go there. If I hear another word from either one of you, I’ll kick you out.”

“Try us, Fuentes,” Jack bit back. “We’re leaving anyway, aren’t we Alex?”

“Yes we are,” Alex nodded. “Are you coming, Jaime?”

“Yup, just let me text Noah to make sure he meets us.”

As Alex and Jack gathered up their stuff, Vic proceeded in trying to wake Kellin up. Kellin just grumbled something inaudible before suddenly jerking his head away from Vic’s shoulder and looking at him wide-eyed.

“Holy shit, I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to…”

Vic laid his hands on Kellin’s shoulders, pushing gently. Kellin stopped talking and let his shoulders fall. They fell longer than he had thought. No wonder they hurt all the time when he walked around with them so lifted to high.

“It’s okay,” Vic said quietly and that was all that was needed for Kellin to exhale with relief. He hadn’t meant to fall asleep. Then he remembered Vic putting his arm around his shoulders, or had he dreamt that? Everything was very unclear. Vic got up from the couch and gave his friends hugs before they head out.

“It was nice meting you, Kellin,” Jack called out and Alex hummed in agreement.

“Nice to meet you too!” Kellin replied and waved to the little group as they filed out through the door one after the other. Once the door was closed and locked again, silence and peacefulness fell over the small house.

“I’m going to go to bed,” Kellin declared, getting up from the couch.

“Me too,” Vic chimed in and looked down at his brother. “Where’s Tony by the way? He should be here by now.”

“He was needed back at HQ, he’ll be here in the morning,” Mike mumbled, already half-asleep on the couch.

“So you’ll be alone tonight?” Vic asked, a little irritation leaking into his voice, Kellin noted.

“Just go the fuck to bed, Vic,” Mike snapped. Vic held up his hands in surrender and together with Kellin headed for the bedroom. This night Kellin slipped under the covers for the first time, wearing only a t-shirt and his boxers. Sleeping fully clothed was uncomfortable and tonight he felt safe enough to take the step. Vic stripped into only his boxers as usual. As soon as Kellin noted Vic’s breathing had evened out, he turned around to take a look at the Mexican. He looked peaceful, which was an unusual look on Vic. Now it was easy to tell he was merely 21 years old, even if he acted way older. Kellin turned back, with a little smile on his lips, and confirmed his thoughts from this morning. Yeah. His luck was turning. Things would get better now.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was kind of a filler chapter sorry about that. We're having some developement between Vic and Kellin though wohoo. Next chapter is gonna be a lot about them.


	10. Chapter 10

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hints about Kellin's past, what might be a glimpse of his future and also a bit of running away.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I SURVIVED MY SECOND WEEK WOHOOOO!

This pillow was the best fucking pillow he had ever slept on and it was coming back home with him, no matter what, Vic established as soon as he had woken up. With a long yawn he swung his legs over the edge of the bed and sat there for a while, stretching his limbs. The room was light and it meant that Vic had slept in. Finally, Vic thought to himself. He had deserved that after the past few days. He pulled his hands through his hair and got up. In a heap on the floor was his ripped, black jeans. He pulled them on and just as he closed the button he heard a faint whisper behind him.

“The devil is everywhere. What does that mean?”

Vic turned around slowly, at first a bit taken aback by the words, then he realized what the newly awoken boy in the bed referred to. Vic thought for a moment about the big, black letters on his back. It was quite a statement.

“You mean my tattoo?” Vic asked, just to be sure. Kellin nodded and proceeded with snuggling his face against his pillow and it might just have been the most adorable thing Vic had ever seen. Kellin’s black hair was messy and all over the place, but somehow it suited him.

“I don’t want to say it’s my motto or anything,” Vic started off. “But they are words that need to be taken into account. Ever since I was a kid I realized it’s very rare to find people you can trust. The person you least expect it can stab you in the back without batting an eye and you have to be aware of that, always. Otherwise you get killed or used.”

“Jesus Christ, did you have to ruining a perfectly fine morning with your philosophy about life,” Kellin groaned, opening his eyes.

“You asked,” Vic chuckled and tried not to smile as he noticed Kellin’s eyes roaming over his body. He hesitated for a moment, staying available for more staring from Kellin’s part, before turning around and fishing a tank top from his wardrobe. When he had managed to put it on he turned around and smiled a knowing smile. A slight blush crept over Kellin’s cheeks.

“What time is it?” he mumbled, burying is face in the pillow again.

“Not sure,” Vic replied, biting his cheeks and urging himself to stop smiling like a damn fool. “I’m gonna have some breakfast, are you coming too?”

“Yeah,” Kellin murmured from the pillow. “I’ll be right with you.”

-

 

 _Really, Kellin? Could you be more obvious? Staring and practically drooling over Vic?_ Kellin asked himself and groaned into the pillow. What the heck had gotten into him? Despite scolding himself he couldn’t help smiling, because he was just that much of a bloody idiot. Vic’s smile had told him the Mexican had nothing against the appreciative looks. Kellin didn’t know if that annoyed him or not. It was a decision he was not willing to make barely 10 minutes after waking up. Why was he even smiling? Why was he even staring? He really, really shouldn’t be. Though, it wasn’t his fault he got stuck in a house with Vic Fuentes – he may have been an ass, but he was also in possession of a really nice ass. _Oh my god._ Kellin groaned at his own line of thinking and rolled out of bed, wishing he could call Justin. Justin would know what to do and say – he always did. Kellin jumped into a pair of jeans and let the debate rage on within him. He really missed his friend. He said hi to Mike and Tony who sat on a couch. Mike was eating and watching Tony, who had a white and green guitar in his lap, playing a song Kellin couldn’t recognize. He liked what he heard though.

“Nice guitar,” he said as Tony let the last tones ring out.

“It’s mine,” Vic answered, from somewhere behind Kellin. Kellin turned around to see Vic standing in the doorway of the kitchen with a sandwich in his hand.

“I have a similar one though,” Tony butted in. “But it’s black and green and not exactly the same shape.”

“What song were you playing?” Kellin wondered, keeping his focus as Vic walked past him and sat down on the other couch. “It was really cool.”

“Just something I’ve had in my head for a while,” Tony mumbled, avoiding Kellin’s eyes and blushing slightly.

“Oh Jesus, Tony!” Mike exclaimed. “Stop being so modest, you’re one of the best guitarists I’ve ever come across.”

“Shut up!” Tony exclaimed, and played a few chords in the hopes it would throw Mike off. It didn’t.  Kellin abandoned them to get his own breakfast. He settled for some cereal and an apple. Tony and Mike were still nagging when he returned. Vic threw a desperate look in his direction and Kellin smiled a little to him, while flopping down next to him on the couch.

“Hey guys!” he broke Mike and Tony off with, hearing Vic sighing with relief. “I was thinking… I’d really love to call Justin.”

“But… Jaime said Justin told you not to do that,” Vic said, raising an eyebrow.

“He did. I can’t call him because someone will probably find me…”

“Is someone tapping your phone?” Mike said, straightening up where he sat.

Kellin wriggled. He didn’t want to tell them everything. He didn’t even want to think about everything. He just wanted to call Justin.

“No,” he said. “The problem is the phone records. But, I thought I might be able to borrow one of your phones and call him?”

“I don’t see why not?” Vic said. “Tony, give Kellin your phone.”

Looking hesitant, Tony reached his phone over to Kellin, who immediately dialed Justin’s number and pressed call. He rose from the couch and looked over at Vic.

“Can I take the bedroom?” Vic nodded in response and Kellin ran away while the signals went through. He shut the door behind him and paced around. The signals kept going and for a moment he was scared Justin wasn’t going to pick up. Eventually, a voice answered on the other end of the line.

“Who is this?”

Kellin’s heart made a little jump in his chest – he’d know what voice anywhere. It sounded a bit hoarse though, as if he was hangover or something of that kind.

“It’s me,” Kellin replied, feeling the tears rising in his eyes. Holy shit.

“Kellin?!” Justin exclaimed. “Oh Christ. I’ve been so worried. How are you? Is Jaime treating you okay? He was a really nice guy back when I knew him. Have you been forced to meet Vic?”

“Hold on, hold on,” Kellin laughed at Justin’s rambling. “I’m okay. It’s been a few tough days for all of us, but it’s okay now. Jaime is really nice, and yes, I’ve met Vic. We share house.”

“Vic… You… Vic and you… WHAT?”

“We share a house,” Kellin repeated, smiling to himself. “I’m in…”

“Don’t!” Justin called out, quickly and effectively shutting Kellin up.

“What?”

“Don’t say anything. I don’t want to know where you are or who you are there with, except for Vic, since you’ve already mentioned him,” Justin said. “I don’t want to lie in court.”

“In court?!” Kellin echoed. “Justin, what the fuck is going on?”

“I’m… Your dad…” Justin trailed off into silence. Kellin felt himself go cold.

“Justin… What did he do?”

“He eh… He paid me a little visit,” Justin said quietly. “It’s not…”

“On or off hours?” Kellin asked sharply.

“I’m…”

“ON OR OFF HOURS JUSTIN?” Kellin shouted, then reminded himself he was not angry at Justin and should therefore not take his anger out on him.

“On hours,” Justin replied but before Kellin had the opportunity to sigh of relief, he added. “But that didn’t help.”

Kellin sat straight down on the floor. “Wh… what… what are you saying?”

“He came here with his colleagues. I think they were three or four officers in total. He eh… He wanted to know where you were. I told him I knew nothing, but he didn’t believe me. He said some shit about arresting me, but of course he has no grounds for that, so I said nothing,” Justin said, hesitating before continuing. “He was just about to leave when… when he apparently decided trying to scare me wasn’t enough, so… He came back and beat me up. His colleagues just stood there, saying nothing, doing nothing.”

Kellin inhaled and counted to ten, then to twenty. He closed his hands to fists and tried desperately not to scream.

“I’m coming back,” he croaked out. “I’ll come home.”

“Fuck no!” Justin yelled at the other end. “Are you fucking insane? Your father will kill you. I’m not letting you. Give the phone to Vic.”

“No,” Kellin whispered, tears running down his cheeks. “I’ll come home, I’ll fix it. It’ll be fine. I’ll make sure he’ll leave you alone from…”

“Kellin fucking Quinn. If you even set foot in this town again I will personally drag your ass back to San Diego. I’m not kidding. I’ll have Vic or Jaime put you on lockdown and…”

“I already am.” Kellin bit back. “I already fucking am.”

“I DON’T FUCKING CARE. YOU’RE STAYING WHERE YOU ARE,” Justin shouted back. “I’ll be fine!”

“How much damage did he do?” Kellin asked angrily. “And don’t you dare lie to me!”

“He busted two of my lower ribs and there’s a bit of bruising, but it’s…”

“IF YOU EVEN TRY TO IMPLY THAT THIS IS OKAY I WILL KILL YOU,” Kellin roared, then lowered his voice again, a bit surprised at his own anger. These Mexicans weren’t a good influence on him.

“How can you forbid me to come back when it’s my fault you’re getting your ass kicked, huh?” Kellin argued. “I’d rather have him beat me than you, thank you very much.”

“Well, I don’t and I’m a random citizen he can’t keep beating me up forever,” Justin countered. “This was expected Kellin. It would have been weird if he hadn’t.”

“That doesn’t excuse anything,” Kellin mumbled, drying his tears with his underarm. “This is still my fault.”

“It’s not your fault,” Justin whispered. “We’ve been over this, Kellin. None of this is your fault. You do not deserve any of this. Remember that we’ve talked about this?”

Kellin tried to hold back his tears. He felt like his blood was boiling and he didn’t want to be crying. He wanted to throw punches left, right, center. Preferably at himself or his dad.

“I’m coming home,” he hissed to Justin.

“No. No, you aren’t,” Justin said calmly now. “If what you say is true and you’re on lockdown, then Vic won’t let you. If you show up here, your dad will kill you, Kellin. I won’t let you come back. You can never come back. I’ll be fine.”

“I hate you,” Kellin whispered, tears streaming once again.

“No you don’t,” Justin said.

Kellin rose up from the floor and wrenched the door open. He ran out in the living room and threw the phone to Vic, who sat with his mouth hanging open at the sight of Kellin storming by. He managed to catch the cellphone though and not make a complete fool out of himself. Kellin didn’t even look at him, he stormed to the door, unlocked it and shoved it open. The fresh air that hit him felt like a blessing. He slammed the door behind him and ran down the small steps and out in the grass, feet bare. The grass tickled the soles of his feet, but he was barely aware of it, he was boiling and crying and breaking. He ran over to the tree he had been sitting by when Vic pointed a gun to his head and he punched the stem of the tree so hard the bark tore his knuckles. He yelled. He screamed out in anguish, not 100% sure why, but it felt good so he kept going. He kept hitting and screaming and kicking, until someone wrapped their arms around him and resolutely lifted him away. Kellin thrashed around, doing his best to make whoever it was let go, but it didn’t work. The person was talking, but Kellin couldn’t hear him over his own sobbing and screaming. The person sat Kellin down again, but didn’t let go. They had a good grip on each of Kellin’s wrists and forcefully held his arms in place. They leaned closer to him, whispering something in his ear, it sounded calming but he couldn’t find it within himself to focus. He stopped screaming and just cried. He cried for the times he’d wanted to cry since he left home and for all of those times that lay before him. He cried for his dad and Justin, poor Justin who wanted nothing but take care of him and all he got in return was broken ribs and bruises. Kellin cried for himself. He was stuck in no man’s land. He didn’t have anywhere to go. He didn’t know how to move forward and he couldn’t go back to where he came from. The person holding him had eased their grip a bit when they felt him relaxing and had started to sway a back and forth a little, in a quite soothing way. Kellin relaxed and leaned into whoever was standing behind him. He had a guess by now.

“It’ll be okay, whatever it is, we’ll fix it,” Vic whispered in his ear. “You’ll be okay. Please, stop crying.”

Kellin broke out of Vic’s grip and turned on his heels, watching Vic’s surprise.

“I hate you!” Kellin yelled. “I hate all of you. I hate you so much!”

“No, you don’t,” Vic replied, just as calmly as Justin had done.

“I hate you, Vic,” Kellin meant to scream, but it came out as nothing but a faltering whisper.

“No, Kellin. I really don’t think you do,” Vic answered again.

Kellin was shaking. Vic looked suspicious, ready to grab Kellin again if he tried to punch something or someone. Kellin glanced back up at the house, but no one else was in sight. The big field and the woods that stretched out around him, suddenly felt threateningly big. He stepped closer to Vic again, and the Mexican boy embraced him, holding him tight to his chest. Kellin rested his head on Vic’s shoulder, while the older boy kept murmuring soothing words. Eventually Kellin stopped shaking and Vic lead him over to the tree and sat down. Kellin sat down next to him and Vic immediately laid an arm over his shoulders. Kellin leaned on him and closed his eyes. They sat like that for quite some time and no one bothered them. Kellin assumed Vic had told them not to. Kellin and Vic’s breathing and heartbeats became synced. Kellin had not yet opened his eyes, not wanting to come back to reality, not wanting to break the moment. He wasn’t even bothered by the fact that he was leaning on Victor Fuentes. Fuck it. Fuck it all.

“So,” Vic suddenly said. “What would you say about getting out of here for a while?”

Kellin’s eyes flew open and found Vic’s. “What?”

“Let’s take my car and just drive for a bit,” Vic said, grinning like a maniac, probably well knowing his brother would kill him.

Kellin looked at him for a long time before smiling a little and nodding. “Okay.”

Vic jumped up from the ground, brushing his jeans off before offering a hand to help Kellin up. Without letting of Kellin’s hand, he steered his steps toward his car which was parked a few meters away. Kellin sat down in the passenger’s seat and Vic took place behind the wheel. He put the key in the ignition and turned. The roar from the engine was answered by movement from the house and suddenly Mike and Tony was outside, sprinting toward them and screaming. Vic turned up the volume of the radio to drown them out and practically skidded out on the small dirt road, leaving his brother and Tony behind in a cloud of dust.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So. Sorry for mistakes, I was hurrying as fuck when I wrote this. Next chapter is already planned though, I just need to write it out. You'll get to know exactly why Kellin is running away from home and what's up with his dad and stuff. All of that will be revealed in the next chapter. I look forward to it, I hope you do too.


	11. Chapter 11

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Vic ponders on the different ways the horror that is Mike will kill him when he returns. He also ends up really close to Kellin. Too close, actually.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is a short one, I'm sorry, but the upcoming week is my last on practical placement, so stay with me. :)

He was so dead. Mike would, without doubt, rip his intestines out and strangle him with them. It was too late to turn back now though, the harm had already been done and the second Vic glanced over at Kellin he knew it was worth it.  R U Mine blasted through the speakers and the wind swept in through the rolled down windows, leaving Vic’s hair flying backwards. Kellin was leaning his elbow on the edge of his window, occasionally reaching it out to feel the wind. The music was so loud they couldn’t talk, but Vic didn’t mind. His phone had vibrated at least 15 times in the last 15 minutes. Hopefully Tony could talk Mike down a bit. The shiny car swirled down the streets of San Diego, with no plan of stopping. Eventually Kellin turned down the music and turned to Vic.

“What?” Vic wondered, glancing at Kellin. He looked relaxed, but something was still troubling him. At least he didn’t look so sad anymore.

“I want to tell you,” Kellin said.

“Tell me what?” Vic asked, raising an eyebrow.

“About why I’m here,” Kellin replied.

“Oh…” Vic breathed out, focusing his gaze on the winding road in front of them.

Kellin fell silent for a while and the song changed to Iris by The Goo Goo Dolls.

“I come from Chandler, Arizona. Originally, I’m from Orlando, but when I was a kid, my mom died and after that my dad decided we needed a change. As if losing a parent wasn’t change enough… Anyway. I’m…”

Kellin lost his track and Vic quickly glanced at him. “Take your time.”

“Thanks…” Kellin mumbled. “The relationship between me and my father has always been a bit… cold. I don’t know how else to describe it. We liked each other, but I wasn’t as close to him as I was to my mother. When she died, he started drinking a lot. I think he blamed both me and himself, I don’t really know and it’s not really relevant. Recently, maybe a year or two back, he started hitting me. It was nothing serious to begin with, just a slap in the face occasionally, but it got worse and worse. He started disappearing and didn’t come home at night, leaving me to care for myself. I moved in with my older friend Justin for a while, but eventually he came there to take me home and I… I never did that again.”

Vic gripped the wheel so hard his knuckles whitened. No matter how difficult things got, no matter how broken you were – you took care of your own. It was a code Vic had been living by since the day he was old enough to understand what it meant, he’d been living by it since he was a child. He didn’t even want to know where he or his brother would be today if it wasn’t for them sticking together.

“A few days ago we had a fight, my dad and I. He was really angry, and gave me a few new bruises and I decided to get back at him this time. So, I stole some money from him and bought a guitar.”

Vic didn’t know if he should smile or punch something. Maybe both?

“He found out, of course, and he went completely crazy. Completely mental…” Kellin shuddered at the thought of the look in his father’s eyes that night. Vic kept throwing him worried glances, but Kellin tried to push that thought away, keeping himself calm and collected enough to tell his story. He was tired of it. Tired of telling it, tired of explaining it, tired of living it.

“I managed to get away from him and ran home to Justin. He put me on the first possible bus to San Diego, telling me he knew people who would take care of me here.”

“I don’t want to be blunt or come across as insensitive, but…” Vic said with hesitation. “There must be more to this. Why do we have to keep you off the streets? Why are you afraid of people checking your phone records?”

“My dad’s a cop,” Kellin spat out and Vic noted the boy wrapped his arms around his own small frame. “He’s the perfect example of an officer of the law, employee of the month every time, quickly making his ways up through the ranks. He has the authority to investigate my disappearance. I’m probably already wanted or reported missing.”

“Holy shit…” Vic sighed, groaning before he was able to stop himself.

“He has already paid Justin a visit, along with his fellow officers. He broke two of Justin’s ribs,” Kellin said in a matter-of-fact voice, staring straight out at the road ahead of them. He sounded numb. Vic punched the wheel violently and as soon as a parking spot appeared along the way, he pulled over. He pushed the breaks as hard as he could and turned to Kellin.

“I’m sorry,” he said and he meant it. Kellin just nodded.

“I fucking mean it,” Vic said, this time earning a glance. “I’m sorry you had to go through that and I’m sorry I didn’t treat you any better when you got here.”

“It’s okay,” Kellin said, looking straight at Vic. “I forgive you.”

Vic was going to say something else, but suddenly all plans had disappeared. Kellin forgave him. Was it that easy to earn forgiveness? Vic sat back for a moment and pondered about that fact.

“I realize I should have let you know immediately, but I don’t like talking about it,” Kellin said, sounding tired again, looking out through the windshield, his gaze stuck on something distant. “You can tell the others if you want, but don’t make me.”

“Deal,” Vic promised, still trying to wrap his head around everything.

“I need some air,” Kellin said and quickly grasped after the door handle, shoving the car door open and exiting the car. Vic watched him as he paced around outside. He didn’t know if he were supposed to go out and comfort him or not. Eventually Kellin stopped pacing and leaned against the hood of the car, his back toward Vic.  Vic could see Kellin’s shoulders were raised with tension, his black hair was swept backwards in the wind. He hated seeing him like this. Carefully, Vic stepped out of the car and walked around it. He saw fresh tears staining Kellin’s cheeks. The boy slowly turned his head to Vic and held his gaze.

“I don’t know what to do?” he whimpered. “What am I supposed to do?”

Vic eliminated the distance between them and wrapped his arms around Kellin's thin body. Kellin buried his face in Vic’s neck and Vic rubbed his back. The cars swirling by on the road almost drowned out Vic’s reply.

“I’ll do what I can to help, but you can’t go back. It’s not safe.”

Kellin raised his head from Vic’s shoulder and Vic let go of him.

“It’s not safe anywhere,” Kellin said, shaking his head a little, looking at the ground.

“You’re safe with me,” Vic promised without missing a beat. Kellin’s eyes snapped up and fixed on Vic, who leaned in and let their foreheads touch. They were so close. So close. They really shouldn’t be so close. Vic shouldn't want to kiss him so badly and holy shit fuck it all; Vic leaned in and gently brushed his lips against Kellin’s. Kellin tensed up at first, then relaxed again, pressing his body against Vic’s. He lay a hand in Vic’s neck and Vic felt his skin burn under Kellin’s touch. Kellin tugged at Vic’s bottom lip before pulling back, mumbling;

“You can’t hide me from the world forever.”

“I can try,” Vic whispered back. He wasn’t even sure Kellin could hear him over the roar of the traffic driving past them, barely sparing them a glance. A voice in Vic’s head was screaming at him to stop this foolishness right now, to apologize to Kellin and reclaim his personal space, but his body wouldn’t follow the orders. He leaned in again, and damn Kellin’s lips were so soft and perfectly kissable. The north western wind caught them in the act, making Vic’s long hair drape around them, cutting them off from the surroundings, for a few seconds making the moment their own. Vic could almot taste Kellin’s insecure hesitance and broke away before too long. Kellin’s cheeks were slightly stained with red blush and he glanced down at his hands as they fell from Vic’s body to his own lap.

“I didn’t expect that,” he said, but was still smiling.

“Neither did I,” Vic replied, pulling a hand through his hair. “Shit…”

Kellin said nothing, just looked down at his hands. Vic backed away.

“Let’s get back,” he muttered. Kellin nodded, and they both returned to their seats. Vic pulled out from the side of the road with a roaring engine, mentally beating himself up. How the fuck could he have let himself take advantage of Kellin like that? He was the lowest of the low and he needed to get back so Mike could rightfully kick his ass. Vic growled a bit to himself and turned up the music. Oh Darling by The Beatles were playing, not really helping the situation. Kellin hummed along. Vic kept himself from stealing glances. In the short silence between one song and the next Kellin reached forward and took Vic’s left right hand in his left.

“It’s okay,” he smiled and Vic knew he was telling the truth. The opening riff of Some Lie 4 Love by L.A. Guns blasted through the speakers and Vic pushed the gas pedal further down, allowing himself to grin.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So.. That was that. Let me know what you think! The next chapter will be as long as they usually are.


	12. Chapter 12

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Vic and Kellin drives Mike into the risk-zone of having a stroke, but they have fun on their way there.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> THE INTERSHIP IS DONE. I am so sad. The students were awesome and they actually seemed to like having me around. They stayed behind after the last classes and thanked me and I got stuff from them. It was cute. Now I'm gonna stop before I start crying.  
> ENJOY!

Vic turned the engine off and looked at Kellin with worry.

“Mike is going to be very angry now and even if he shouts at you, it’s probably not meant for you, but for me,” he explained slowly. “I want you to be prepared. I’m pretty sure he’s going to come running out soon and... Don’t be scared of him, okay? He’s a good guy.”

“He’s also an angry and aggressive guy,” Kellin pointed out and Vic couldn’t disagree.

“I know,” Vic sighed, flicking his eyes between the rear-view mirrors. “But he only gets like that when it’s serious business. Like me taking off on my own when he and Tony are responsible for my safety.”

Kellin said nothing, just opened the door of the car and got out. Vic followed his example and locked the car before catching up to Kellin with a few running steps. Vic fell into Kellin’s pace, but walked a step or so ahead of him, just to be sure Mike wouldn’t attack him. He didn’t want Kellin to feel scared or threatened. Despite himself, Vic let his thoughts wander back to earlier. Kellin wore the best of poker faces and even though it felt like he had reassured Vic in the car on their way back, Vic still didn’t feel certain about the situation. What if Kellin was just scared of him and didn’t want to piss him off? They needed to have an open-hearted and honest talk. Vic hated those kind of talks. That talk would only happen if he managed to survive his brother though, and that was a question mark. Vic focused entirely on the house in front of them, waiting for the front door to be busted open and for Mike to come flying at him – but nothing happened. Both Mike’s and Tony’s cars were parked outside the house, exactly in the same spots as before so Vic knew they were still around. An unsettling feeling grew in Vic’s stomach. What if something had gone wrong? Suddenly he was fast on his feet, leaving Kellin behind. He didn’t have his gun with him and silently cursed to himself for being a reckless prick. He ran up the steps to the house and opened it up just a few inches. He peeked inside and inhaled sharply. Fuck, fuck, fuck. The couches were turned over and a flowerpot had been smashed, leaving dirt and glass all over the floor. Vic immediately cleared his mind of everything that didn’t belong to this exact situation. He turned around and signed to Kellin to hurry up. As soon as Kellin was behind him, Vic put a finger over his lips, before motioning to him to follow. Kellin nodded affirmative. Vic pushed the door open slowly and looked around closely before entering. With careful but fast steps he made his way toward the kitchen, keeping by the walls, making sure he had his back clear. Kellin walked behind him, just as silent. Vic noticed that at the sight of the fallen over couches and the general mess, Kellin’s eyes had widened considerably. When they reached the kitchen door, Vic took a deep breath before quickly sticking his head into the room to get a glimpse and then turning back out again. No blood, no people – that he could see yet. He entered the kitchen and looked around quickly to confirm what he had glanced at before. The kitchen seemed untouched and there was no one there. There were no other doors in the room other than the one he and Kellin had entered through so it should be clear. Vic pulled out a kitchen drawer and pulled out one of the kitchen knives. It was medium sized and felt light in his hand. He made a few swings with it, throwing it up in the air and catching it again perfectly. It would make do until he could get his hands on something more effective. Kellin’s eyes had widened again, but he said nothing, just waited for Vic to take an initiative.

Vic motioned toward the living room and they filed out. After that he pointed to the corridor, making sure Kellin got informed at least a little bit. Being slightly informed would be better than not being informed, Vic figured. Stuff like that would create an illusion of you having at least a little bit of control over the situation, above all it would tell Kellin that Vic had control, and that could perhaps make him feel a little bit safer. Vic walked down the corridor with easy steps and the knife in front of him, ready to strike at anything that moved. The door to the bedroom was closed and Vic’s heart dropped. He paused shortly, looking at Kellin and thinking. He thought about the layout of the bedroom, realizing there also was bathroom in there. Vic pointed at Kellin and then on the floor, mouthing ‘Stay here.’ Kellin nodded. Vic motioned at himself and then the door. Kellin made thumbs up. Vic faced the door and took a deep breath, starting a mental countdown. Three… Two… One… He kicked the door open and his eyes immediately settled for Tony, who was sitting right across from Vic, on the floor, leaning his back against the wall. Vic let his guard down, lowering the knife. Tony looked unharmed and was holding a lit cigarette in his hand. Vic scowled – Tony didn’t smoke… A growl was heard from Vic’s left and the knife was hurtfully hit out of his hand. Vic reacted and twisted his body away from whoever had attacked him, only to realize it was Mike. Mike looked like he was ready to unleash hell upon earth and to Vic everything fell into place. Mike grabbed Vic by his shoulders and lifted him up from the floor, forcefully slamming his back against a wall. Vic winced, but didn’t say anything, just looked straight at Mike.

“You scared the shit out of me, bro,” Vic said calmly. Mike was practically heaving for breath.

“Good!” he growled, his grip on Vic tightening. “Now you know how I have felt for the past hour.”

“Kellin needed some air,” Vic stated slowly. “It was my decision.”

“Where is the idiot?” Mike hissed. Vic hesitated. Mike saw it and once again slammed his back against the wall. Vic yelped.

“He’s right outside the door! Jesus, Mike, calm down!”

“Calm down?!” Mike roared. “You can’t take off like that! What if something had happened to you, huh? Is he worth that?”

“But nothing happened, Mike,” Vic desperately uttered.

“YOU THANK YOUR GOD FOR THAT!” Mike yelled back at him. “I would have burned San Diego to the ground!”

Vic fell silent, just watching his brother slowly but surely get a grip on himself. Eventually, after a lot of staring and non-verbal communication, Mike let go of Vic who slid down the wall and landed on his feet. He made an effort to move away, but Mike extended his arm in front of him, cutting off Vic from the doorway.

“Car keys,” Mike hissed. With frustration Vic dug into his pocket and fished out his keys. Mike snatched them from him and walked over to Tony. Vic remained where he was, carefully watching his brother’s movements while trying to avoid pissing him off even more. Tony gave Mike the cigarette he had held for him and then Mike turned on his heels and stormed out of the room. Vic leaped after him, making sure he wouldn’t attack Kellin in the hallway. Mike only walked past him, his shoulder colliding with Kellin’s, making Kellin stumble. Vic hurried forward to steady him, but the quick movement made Kellin jump.

“It’s just me,” Vic murmured, hold his arms out, offering Kellin a hug. Kellin leaned closer and let himself be embraced. He was shaking a little, but Vic still deemed this a victory, cause Mike was a scary bastard. Tony emerged from the bedroom, raising an eyebrow at Vic and Kellin. Vic glared at him and Tony raised his hands in mock-surrender.

“Didn’t say anything,” he claimed, pressing past them.

“You could have at least tried to calm Mike down,” Vic argued, changing subject in the process. “Scaring the shit out of me was not okay.”

“Neither was you taking off with him,” Tony replied and nodded in Kellin’s direction. “Don’t ever do that again.”

Before Vic had a chance to reply Tony turned his back on them and walked away, probably to try to locate Mike.  Vic tried to glare at his back, but deep down he felt guilty for having put both Tony and Mike through all that worry. He knew he would have gone much more crazy on Mike if he had done it. He decided it was probably best for both himself and Kellin to stay out of sight for a while. Kellin had stopped shaking and now looked up at Vic with a bit of worry in his eyes.

“Should we hide away for a while?” he asked.

“Probably a good idea,” Vic smiled. Kellin took his hand and pulled him toward the bedroom. Vic tried to ignore the butterflies that fluttered around in his stomach over the fact that Kellin held his hand. When Kellin had closed the door behind them, Vic pulled his hand out of Kellin’s and cleared his throat. He saw the little light in Kellin’s eyes die down, and insecurity and fear was showing in his posture as well as the expression he wore. The black haired boy seemed to shrink under Vic’s gaze and for a moment Vic feared his theory had been true.

“You already regret this don’t you,” Kellin whispered, looking like he wanted to run, but was frozen in place.

“No, no I don’t,” Vic explained. “But I just… I just wanted to make sure you didn’t do this just because you’re scared of me and don’t want to piss me off or anything… like that… you know. I just. I want this to be real or not at all. I don’t want to pressure you. I’m not asking anything of you, Kellin.”

The look in Kellin’s eyes changed and he straightened his back. He huffed to himself and Vic raised an eyebrow.

“Wanna elaborate?” he asked. Kellin stepped forward, eliminating the distance between them. He put one hand on Vic’s chest, letting the other one caress his lower jaw.

“You may not know me very well, Fuentes,” he breathed, his lips touching Vic’s. Vic couldn’t move. Oh god. Oh Christ.

“… but if you did, you’d believe me when I say that this…” Kellin interrupted himself by quickly pressing his lips against Vic’s. “…is very real.”

Vic lifted Kellin up and Kellin locked his legs around Vic’s hips. Vic turned around so Kellin was leaning his back against the wall he himself had been more violently pressed up against earlier. He looked into Kellin’s eyes and they were shining.

“I believe you,” Vic said and kissed him. Kellin tangled his hands in Vic’s hair. They were so close to each other that Vic imagined he could hear Kellin’s heartbeat. Vic let his tongue slip into Kellin’s mouth, and Kellin, by accident, gave a tug at Vic’s hair in response. Vic moaned and moved his lips from Kellin’s, to his neck. Kellin inhaled sharply as Vic worked up a hickey on the side of his neck.  He let his hands wander over Vic’s body while he was busy. When he was done, Vic returned to Kellin’s lips and Kellin kissed him with hunger. They were feverish and passionate, moving in sync even though it felt as if they had no idea what they were actually doing. Kellin held his arms around Vic’s neck and Vic moved them away from the wall, toward the bed. With a hand on Kellin’s back, he managed to lay him down carefully, and followed close after. Their lips parted, both of the boy struggling to breathe. Vic’s hands traveled downwards, settling at the hem of Kellin’s jeans, moving to undoing them. Kellin’s hands were on his in a split second.

“Not today,” he breathed, a hint of worry showing in his eyes again.

“No problem,” Vic smiled back at him, moving his hands away, leaning down to kiss Kellin again. The door busted open and a desperate “Oh My God!” was heard from Mike before the door was slammed shut again. Vic looked down at Kellin and burst out laughing. He rolled to the side, laying down next to Kellin, who couldn’t help but cracking up too.

“He’s having a horrible day,” Kellin pressed out between fits of laughter. “I feel so sorry for him.”

“I’m his brother, I’m supposed to ruin his life,” Vic answered, feeling his eyes tear up. Kellin moved closer, snuggling into Vic’s side, settling his head on Vic’s chest. Vic wrapped his arm around him and traced random patterns with his fingers on Kellin’s arm.

“Let’s be nice to Mike for the rest of the day,” Vic suggested.

“Deal,” Kellin mumbled with a smile.

 

-

 

Ten minutes later someone carefully knocked on the door. Vic yelled a ‘come in’. The door opened up just a little bit.

“Is it safe?” Tony asked from the other side of it. “I don’t’ want to be scarred for life.”

“You’ll be fine, Tony,” Vic chuckled and Kellin looked up at the door as Tony entered with hesitation. When his eyes found Vic and Kellin snuggling on the bed though, he smiled.

“I just wanted to say that Mike left and Jaime is taking his place in just a few minutes,” Tony explained.

“Did we break him?” Kellin asked, trying not to grin.

Tony grimaced. “No, but please be nice to him. You’re going to give him a stroke.”

“Payback’s a bitch.” Vic smiled a stuck-up smile.

“You’re not gonna smile all that much if you continue to pressure him today,” Tony pointed out.

“True,” Vic replied. “We’ve already covered that.”

Tony nodded and moved a move for the door. When in the doorway, he looked over his shoulder smiling an all too sweet smile.

“Please be careful, remember consent and use protection,” he rambled quickly before leaping out and shutting the door just as Vic managed to fling a pillow in his direction. It hit the door with a thud and they could hear Tony laughing at the other side.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you enjoyed that, if you did (or didn't) let me know! :D


	13. Chapter 13

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Amends are made and things go to hell. Cause if we're honest... Where else would they go?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'M SORRY IT'S BEEN SO LONG. I'm drowning in school work and personal problems, but hey, here's a chapter. Finally know how to move the story forward from here.   
> Enjoy!

Vic and Kellin had relocated to one of the couches in the living room and Kellin wondered how much Mike and Tony had filled Jaime in before he showed up. Around fifteen minutes later he had his answer. The look currently on Jaime’s face told Kellin they hadn’t prepared him at all. Jaime was staring helplessly at the living room from the doorway, his eyes flickering between Kellin and Vic, the turned over couch and the broken shards of glass mixed with the dirt on the floor. He turned his gaze to Vic and Kellin again and Kellin could feel Jaime looking him up and down, trying to estimate if any damage. Kellin looked down at his hands, and oh goodness, he had forgotten about his knuckles. They did not look well. Some of them were bruised, some of them were a bit bloody, but most concerning was how unclean they were. He hoped they wouldn’t get infected, but this wasn’t really the time to run and wash them up.

“I’m… lost,” Jaime said and finally stepped inside, locking the door behind him. “What did I miss?” Kellin couldn’t help but grin.

“A shitload,” Tony yelled from the kitchen.

“Okay, first thing first; what’s up with your knuckles?” Jaime asked and pointed at Kellin.

“I got into a fistfight with the tree outside,” Kellin replied.

“What did the tree do wrong?” Jaime joked, before getting serious again. “You need to wash them up, they’re going to get infected.”

“On it,” Kellin answered, but made no effort to move. Jaime sighed.

“Want us to start from the beginning?” Vic wondered and Tony came out from the kitchen, leaning against the doorway.

“Please do.”

After going through everything that had happened (with an exception of the making out and the things Kellin told Vic in the car), Jaime nodded. It all made sense. It was all crazy, but it made Fuentes-sense.

“Okay, but I still don’t get what’s up with you two?” Jaime said, looking at Vic and Kellin. “Cause it’s something isn’t it?”

Vic glanced at Kellin, before leaning in to kiss his cheek. Kellin blushed and smiled, avoiding Jaime’s gaze.

“Oh,” was all Jaime could manage to press out.

“Yeah,” Kellin breathed.

 

-

 

It was late afternoon when Mike returned, this time with an acoustic guitar in his hand. Vic ran up from the couch he currently shared with Kellin and gave Mike a hug immediately. Mike put the guitar down and hugged back even tighter.

“I’m sorry,” he mumbled to Vic. “I just got so worried. I brought your favourite acoustic guitar and…”

“I know, I’m sorry too. I shouldn’t have done that, I won’t do it again,” Vic interrupted.

“I meant what I said. I would have burnt San Diego to the ground.”

“I would have expected no less, Mike,” Vic said with a smile, even though he knew Mike couldn’t see it.

“Sometimes I feel like I’m the big brother in this family,” Mike grumbled and pulled back, putting a hand on Vic’s shoulder.

“That’s because my actions force you to be,” Vic answered, looking up at Mike. “I’m sorry…”

“It’s okay,” Mike said, squeezing Vic’s shoulder and then letting him go. Vic returned to the couch and sank down next to Kellin.

“Wow,” Jaime exclaimed after few moments of silence. “That was sweet and tear-jerking at the same time.”

“Shut up, Jaime,” Mike snapped with fondness, sitting down next to Tony on the floor. Tony looked over at him and smiled a little. Mike nodded discreetly in response.

“Don’t be rude, Mike,” Jaime bantered. “I cleaned up your mess! You should thank me.”

“All alone?” Mike asked, glaring at Vic.

“Yes,” Jaime complained. “Other people were too busy cuddling, and don’t even ask where Tony disappeared to when as soon as I uttered the word ‘cleaning’.”

“Guys, before anymore fighting goes down, I call for a group meeting,” Vic announced, turning to Kellin. “Is it okay if you leave us for a while?”

“Sure,” Kellin said and pointed to the acoustic guitar that stood leaned against the couch. “Can I bring the guitar?”

“Of course,” Vic replied and removed his arm from Kellin’s shoulders so the boy could move away. It seemed to be with easy steps he sauntered off in direction of the bedroom and Vic looked after him even when he was out of sight – until he heard the door shut. When he turned back to his friends they were all staring at him, looking all serious.

“Don’t even say it,” Vic sighed, ready to put his hands over his ears if he needed to.

“This is not really the time…” Mike begun, only to be interrupted by Tony.

“Don’t get me wrong, I’m happy for you, but he’s not used to living like we do and…”

“Shut the hell up, both of you!” Jaime cut through, glaring at them until they fell silent. Vic sighed with relief. A second too early.

“I have to ask and you have to be honest with me, Vic,” Jaime said slowly, looking intently at Vic, who knew it was useless to lie. Jaime would pick up on it immediately.

“Are you serious about this or are you just playing around with him?”

Vic exhaled a breath he didn’t know he had been holding. “I don’t know what it is, if it’s going to be serious or not, but I’m not ‘playing around’ with him. It is what it is, we’ll have to see what it progresses into.”

“Damn that’s a pretty good answer,” Mike muttered, sounding almost disappointed.

“Anyone got a problem with that?” Vic asked, starting to work himself up. “Or you know what, don’t answer that. I’d rather that anyone having a problem with it shuts up about it.”

“Come on, Vic,” Tony whined. “Don’t be like that. We’re worried about you. You’re under a lot of pressure right now, we’re just trying to figured out if you’re messing things up for yourself or not.”

“Don’t even deny that you tend to mess things up for yourself,” Jaime butted in. “You can’t blame us.”

“We don’t mean to be assholes,” Mike added with a shrug. “Just checking up on you.”

Vic relaxed again, pulling a hand through his hair. “Whatever.”

Tony cleared his throat. “What was it that you needed to have a group meeting about?”

“A few things,” Vic said, thanking Tony with a nod. “I want to bring you up to speed about something Kellin told me earlier… When we were out driving, he told me why he’s here. Short story: He is running from his abusive father.”

Tony shook his head in despair. Jaime nodded in understanding.

“Could have bet my house on that,” Mike piped up. “I expected a plot twist.”

 “His father is a well-liked cop with quickly progressing carrier,” Vic deadpanned. For a moment they all stared at him in silence.

“Of course he is,” Jaime then groaned, falling back against the couch. “When are our lives ever easy?”

“How much influence does he have?” Tony asked.

“Enough, according to Kellin,” Vic replied, scratching his head. “He think there’s probably an APB or an ATL out already.”

“Nationwide?” Mike asked with surprise.

“Don’t know,” Vic said. “He’s scared of his father checking his phone records and tracking his phone, so he has had it turned off since he got here.”

“Good thinking,” Tony nodded. “We should probably get him a new one though, then he can use it whenever he wants. He can even call Justin.”

Vic nodded. “Good idea! Hadn’t thought so far.”

“No surprise there,” Mike mumbled under his breath.

“I heard that,” Vic remarked without looking at his brother. “Time and place, Mike. Can we please focus on the problem?”

Mike held his hands up in mock surrender. “Sorry, bro.”

Vic was just about to add something else to the conversation when a regular, fairly anonymous ringtone started blasting from his iPhone. He pulled it out of his pocket and was met by ‘ALEX’ shining up at him.

“I have to take this,” Vic said, looking at his friends while moving toward the kitchen. “Hold on.”

 

 “Hi Alex, what’s up?”

“Vic… uh, hi,” Alex answered with some hesitance. Vic scowled. That wasn’t like him.

“Is someone with you?” Vic asked, immediately going for the worst case scenario.

“No, Noah and his friend just left,” Alex stated sounding more sure.

“Everything okay?”

“Yeah… I mean. I don’t know,” Alex rambled.

Vic pinched the bridge of his nose. “Alex, I don’t want to be rude, but I’m in the middle of something here. Get to the point.”

“Your boys poked around a lot,” Alex blurted out.

“My… What?” Vic exclaimed in confusion. “Wait. Poked around… In what sense of the word?”

“Jesus, Vic. They were nosy. They asked a lot of questions,” Alex clarified with a chuckle.

“Okay… About what?” Vic felt caught off-guard and wasn’t sure where this conversation was going.

“About you, where you are hiding out and who I and Jack met while we were with you,” Alex replied. “I know it’s probably nothing, they are surely just worried about you but…”

“But?” Vic urged him on, scowling. He started to pace around the room.

“Well. They were persistent. Didn’t wanna drop the subject even though I tried to switch more than once. I snapped at them, they snapped back. Almost felt like being interrogated without knowing about it,” Alex explained, sighing. “I just wanted you to know.”

Vic felt a wave of nausea hit him. “What did you say? Who was asking the questions?”

“I was vague. Noah started it, but it was his friend who just refused to let it go,” Alex said. “I can’t remember his name. M… Martin? Matt? M…”

“Max?” Vic supplied with a groan.

“Yeah! That’s it! Max!” Alex exclaimed. “I have to go Vic, just wanted you to know…”

“Okay. Thanks, mano. I appreciate it,” Vic said distantly, his thoughts running in different directions – none of them focused on Alex. “See you around.”

“See you soon! Stay safe, okay?” Alex said.

“Always,” Vic replied and ended the call. He turned to the kitchen counter and grabbed the edge of it as hard as he could, trying to steady himself. Fuck. This meant everything and nothing at once. They had no evidence that Max was the one feeding Oliver Sykes with information, but this… This just fueled their earlier suspicion. Max had dislike Vic’s leadership from day one and took every opportunity to second guess the young president’s decisions, claiming he would be the death of them all. Max was a pain in the ass. Vic and his closest guys had naturally looked at him once they understood someone was rooting for the opposite team, feeding Sykes info. Vic shook his head. If it actually was Max he would put his head on a stick outside headquarters.

For a moment, Vic considered telling the boys waiting for him in the living room, but quickly dismissed the thought. At least Mike wouldn’t care about evidence. Once Vic had told him about this Mike’s eyes would get that spark of fire they all respected and worried about. Vic knew his brother would already feel his hands closing around Max’ throat, seeing the life drain from his eyes.  There was nothing stopping him from getting into a car and driving all the way to headquarters and strange Max where he stood.  So Vic decided to shut up for now. _It’s a coincidence_ , he told himself. Deep down he knew that he did not have the luxury of ignoring coincidences.

 

-

 

“So, I’ll be back tomorrow at noon okay?”  Jaime said and looked at Tony.

“Yeah, yeah, get going!” Tony mumbled from the couch, almost asleep already.

Mike lay on the other couch, already out like a light. Kellin looked at them with a smile dancing on his lips and wondered how the heck he had managed to get tangled up in a mess with these guys. He had started to like them. Even overly aggressive, irritating as shit Michael Fuentes. Kellin would never admit it, but there was definitely a part of him caring for him too. Vic entered the living room from the kitchen just as Jaime closed the front door. Kellin locked it and turned to Vic. He put his arm around Vic’s waist and Vic leaned into the embrace.

“Let’s go to bed,” Kellin said quietly. “I’m tired.”

“Sounds like a plan,” Vic smiled and kissed Kellin’s cheek.

Kellin went to bed immediately, but Vic caught sight of the acoustic guitar on floor. He dressed down to only his boxers, put his gun in the drawer as usual and then sat down, leaning his back against the bed and picked up the guitar. He played slowly, carefully at first – as if trying it out. Then he fell into different melodies, humming as he played. Kellin felt content. He felt like a teenage girl wanting to giggle every time he looked at Vic, but he didn’t, mind you. This had gone fast. This whole thing had sneaked up on him and then attacked when he had least expected it. The strange in the equation was that he was okay with it. Kellin chuckled to himself; If only Justin could see him now. He wouldn’t believe it. Kellin was not the kind of person who made fast, split-second decisions even if his life depended on it. He was used to weighing in every possible consequence, which to be honest was mostly his dad’s fault, but it was still something that was now deeply rooted in Kellin. Somehow Vic had managed to undermine it. Kellin didn’t complain. He liked it. He was excited to see where this would lead. He just wished they had met under other circumstances. The life Vic lead was not simple. Kellin shook his head, clearing up the worrying thoughts. His eyes slipped shut and he didn’t have the energy to open them again. He let Vic’s playing and humming lull him into a deep sleep.

 

-

 

Someone was shouting. Kellin was positive that someone was shouting. Why the heck were they shouting? It was in the middle of the night for God's sake! The closer and closer to awake he got - he realized he knew the voice. It was Mike. Explosions. Kellin was awake a second later, breathless and could already feel adrenaline starting to run through his system. Vic had sat up in bed and now jumped down on the floor, putting on a pair of jeans. It sounded as if Kellin was standing next to fireworks exploding, but he realized that wasn’t what was happening. Gunshots. It was the sound of gunshots ripping through the house. Kellin’s ears were ringing when it got quiet. Vic had run up to the door, his gun in his hand.  

“Get behind me, Kellin,” Vic said quietly, seeming unsure whether to exit the room or not. “MIKE?!”

Kellin jumped out of bed, crawled into his jeans and hurried to Vic’s side.

“What’s…” he started, but Vic hushed him. Running steps were coming their way.

“Victor, he’s here!” Mike yelled from right outside the door. “Take…”

Mike’s sentence got interrupted by him groaning loudly, accompanied by a loud thud. Kellin heard the sound of a body hitting the floor on the other side of the door. Vic motioned to Kellin to move back from the door. Kellin quickly did so and Vic followed. The whole house had gone completely silent and in one way it was even worse than earlier when it had been full of chaos. The door was violently kicked in and old as it was, almost fell off the hinges. Three men entered the room with drawn guns, pointing them at Vic and Kellin. Vic removed his finger from the trigger of his gun and opened his palm, showing them he wasn’t going to fire at them.

“Put it down and kick it away,” one of the men ordered, taking a step forward and lowering his own gun. Vic slowly bent down, put the firearm on the floor and kicked it backwards so it hit the legs of his bedside drawer. The man who had stepped forward had rather short, brown hair and every piece of skin Kellin could see was tattooed. He smiled now, happily, but Kellin thought he looked even more menacing than when he had looked indifferent. Kellin wondered who he was. The look of absolute disgust on Vic’s face told Kellin this wasn’t even anywhere near good.

“Victor Fuentes… Long time no see,” the man smiled and this time Kellin noted the British accent.

“Oli Sykes,” Vic snarled back and Kellin inhaled sharply, because _fuck_ this was bad. “Forever would be too soon…”

Oli widened his smile. “Oh, but we have so much fun to look forward to.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, everything is going to shit for me so I thought, why not drag the boys down with me?  
> What do you think?


	14. Chapter 14

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Death.

The room fell quiet for a moment and it seemed as if time had stopped while Vic and Oli Sykes stared at each other. Kellin shifted closer to Vic making their bodies almost end up touching.

“I’m taking it you’re not just here for a drink,” Vic remarked after a while, letting his anger split the silence. Oliver just grinned in response. “We had a peace, Oli.”

“That peace was a shit deal for me,” Oli snapped; his eyes burning.

“How did you find me?” Vic hissed out between clenched teeth, his hand coming close to Kellin’s and Kellin had to stop himself from grabbing it. His pulse was racing.

“Your brotherhood isn’t as loyal as you might have thought,” Oli answered, tilting his head to the side, peering curiously at Vic. “But you already knew that, didn’t you? That’s why you’re hiding out here. In the middle of nowhere.”

“You can kill me, but guys won’t follow you,” Vic stated coldly, glaring at his competition. Kellin shivered when Oli’s indifferent expression slowly broke into a confident, mocking smile.

“Oh love, I don’t want your crew,” Oli purred with content. “I want your blood and I want your territory. No more, no less.”

Kellin noted how Vic tensed up even more, if that was possible, when Oli gave his answer.

“You sure about that?” Vic bit back. “You don’t have the numbers to keep my friends back. Are you really going to mess with the Brides? With Of Mice and Men? They may not have their bases in San Diego but I’ve been very clear with them about where to start the hunt if I suddenly disappear.”

"Let them come," Oli said. "I'll paint the sreets with their blood, leave their bodies to rot on the sidewalks. I have a plan, Victor, and I have backup. All of your boys may not follow me, but they might follow one of your heirs."

In the corner of his eye Kellin picked up that Vic clenched his jaws as hard as he could, probably trying to bite back a remark he didn’t want to let slip out. Oli’s gaze turned from Vic to Kellin and somehow Kellin found it within himself to glare at the intruder. Oli gave a whistle.

“So, who’s that beauty?” he wondered, walking toward them. The gang leader walked with self-confidence oozing from his every move. This man knew he could hold the world in his hand if he wanted to. Vic stepped entirely in front of Kellin now, almost shielding him from Oli’s view.

“Don’t,” Vic growled, but Oli didn’t stop. He raised the gun still in his hand and put it to Vic’s head. Kellin closed his eyes briefly, shoving down the panic threatening to consume him. Oli and Vic stared at each other, carrying out a wordless dialog, while the rest of the people in the room watched.

“Step aside,” Oli eventually hissed and Vic hesitated. Given a push by Oli, he moved away though, even if trying to glare Oli to death (with limited success).

 

Oli stood close. Too close. Kellin hated having him in his personal space from the second he entered it. He wanted to run or back away, but somehow his body wasn’t answering to his brain’s panicked orders. Oli reached out and stroke Kellin’s cheek. He didn’t know when he had started to shake, but he had, and he couldn’t stop. He didn’t want to be scared, he wanted to be fearless like Vic, but he wasn’t. This was Vic’s thing not his. This was too close to what he had chosen to leave behind. Oli’s skin touching his own made Kellin want to puke. Oli leaned in closer and Kellin answered by flinching away. Oli’s hand slid from his chin to the back of his head and he leaned closer once again, and this time there was no way for Kellin to get away. Oli gently pressed his lips against Kellin’s and Kellin had to fight his urge to throw up. His mind went blank and he felt as if he was watching himself from someone else’s perspective. This wasn’t happening. Oli interrupted the kiss and carefully pushed Kellin’s fringe from his eyes.

“I think I’m gonna keep you alive for a while, mate,” he announced, then turned to Vic flashing a grin. “Is that okay with you?”

Vic said nothing, just clenched and unclenched his fists, seemingly contemplating something. Kellin looked at Vic’s eyes, which were glued to Oli, and saw the moment when Vic made up his mind. In his eyes rose a spark of rage and in the next second he was aiming a good punch at Oli’s face. Oli had seen it coming though and in a calm manner ducked, avoiding the hit and sent his own fist in Vic’s direction. Vic, too blinded by rage, took the hit to the mouth. He stumbled back a step or two. Blood poured from the corner of his mouth. As he smiled at Oli, and Kellin could see all his teeth discolored with red. Vic spat some blood on the floor and looked up at Oli again.

“Was that all you’ve got?”

The two guys who had been standing back, waiting, now stepped up behind Vic and grabbed his arms. Kellin watched as the assault began. They were three against one, it wasn’t even fair. Oli raised his fists again and again and soon enough blood was pouring from Vic’s face and upper body. They would kill Vic. It was a split second decision. Kellin would admit that he hadn’t thought it through at all. He had barely reacted to the thought before his body had responded to it. No matter what, the fact remained that he jumped at Oliver Sykes with nails and teeth, managing a few deep scratches over the older man’s throat before being thrown across the room. He hit the floor with force and lost his breath. Just as he managed to turn around to lie on his back, someone placed a foot on his ribs and applied pressure. He gasped both for air and because of the pain. Kellin looked up at Oli and saw the fury, the complete darkness in his eyes.

“Stay down or I’ll shoot you,” Oli ordered.

 

-

 

Vic was on his knees. He felt warm liquid running down his face, and knew he must look like a battleground, but he didn’t care. He was angry again. He thought about his brother and his best friend who were probably lying dead in the living room. He hadn’t heard any shots being fired, but that didn’t mean anything. He thought about Kellin who were in fact still alive, but probably wouldn’t be for long. He knew it was at least two hours until Jaime would show up to switch with Mike. Oh god. He didn’t want Jaime to find them all dead.  Another punch landed in Vic’s face and he fell to the ground. It hurt. Everything hurt. As soon as his body hit the floor he got kicked. Vic curled up, all thoughts of loved ones fading from his mind as it quickly filled with nothing but notions of the pain searing through his body. When Oli finally stepped back Vic had trouble breathing. Every piece of his body was aching, screaming at him to give in to the darkness which seemed very welcoming, to be honest. His eyes flickered open. Oli was standing right in front of him, blocking his view of anything else. He held a gun in his hand and just as Vic looked up at him, he loaded it. At the familiar click of the gun, Vic groaned. So this was how he was going to go down… He would haunt the shit out of Jack Barakat. This was not his fault, but hey, it’d be fun to scare the shit out of him anyway. Vic tried to hold his eyes open, but everything was blackening anyway. Kellin. Was he alright? Oh god, they would probably kill him too. Poor kid, he had no idea what he fell into that night. Someone grabbed Vic by his blood stained t-shirt and hauled him up, violently shaking him.

“Open your eyes, Vic,” Sykes incited. “Come on, you can’t give in yet, mate.”

Vic’s eyes fluttered open again and he almost flinched, not ready to see Sykes’ face only inches away from his own.

“You wanna know who betrayed you?” Sykes wondered, shaking Vic violently to keep him awake. Vic fought to keep his fluttering eyes open, to hold on to what little consciousness he had left.

“Now I got your attention!” Sykes laughed, then leaned in close. His breath warm against Vic’s skin, as he whispered; “Noah.”

 _No._ Vic panicked. For once, he panicked. He tried to push Oli away, tried to get out of his grip, but knew his struggle was futile. He had to warn the others, he had to… Sykes let go of him and he sank back against the floor with a thud and a groan. Oli Sykes pointed the gun at him. Despite that, or because of it, Vic kept his eyes on him.

“Hail Mary,” he whispered quietly. “Forgive me…”

A number of bullets ripped through the air, tearing flesh and letting blood cover the floor.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry, if this was a bit short. Anyhow, hope you enjoyed, please let me know.


	15. Chapter 15

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The aftermath.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Look how quick I was, writing this chapter, woop! It has been so much fun watching your reactions.  
> Enjoy!

Jaime was blasting Korn in the car. It was early morning and Noah had agreed to meet up with him at HQ to jam for a bit. It would be a nice way for Jaime to try to wind down and relax without actually having to stop being occupied. The last few weeks were starting to wear on him. Vic hiding out wasn’t good for the gang. Everyone was on edge, all the time. The smallest of arguments could blow up into internal fights and PTV was nothing if PTV wasn’t united. Jaime sighed, drumming against the wheel. The traffic was light, but had started to pick up a bit since a few unlucky souls had to get to work this early. After some thought, Jaime concluded that the only good thing that had come out of the last few weeks had been Kellin Quinn. Jaime found himself strangely attached to the boy, and was impressed by how fast he had settled in with their group. He was also a good influence on Vic and Vic would forever be good to him. Jaime smiled at that. A sharp, anonymous ringtone broke his line of thought and without taking his eyes off the road, Jaime fished the phone out of his pocket. ‘VIC’ shone up at him on the screen.

“What’s up, Vic?” he answered, glancing in the rearview mirror.

“Jaime…”

“Kellin?!” Jaime exclaimed the second he recognized the voice. “What are you doing? Why are you on Vic’s phone?”

“I had to take it, I…” Kellin stumbled over his words and Jaime decided to interrupt.

“Have you run away? Vic will kill you,” he said, lowering his voice, as if he was scared that Vic could hear.

“Jaime, you need to get back here. Right now. Please.”

Not until now Jaime noticed the tremble in Kellin’s voice. Coldness spread through his chest.

“What happened?”

“I… I can’t wake him up. He is dead, Jaime,” Kellin rambled, while sobbing horribly. “I killed him. I fucking killed him. He’s dead!”

Jaime made a U-turn there and then, earning a lot of upset gesturing and hooting from the other drivers. He tried not to panic and pressed the gas pedal as hard as he could. Don’t let it be…

“Killed who?” he asked, dreading the answer. “Who is dead?”

After what felt like the longest silence in Jaime’s lifetime, Kellin answered with a shaky voice;

“Oliver Sykes.”

“Holy shit,” was all Jaime managed to press out, not even aware if it was an expression or relief or terror. He exhaled loudly and tried to keep his cool. Fucking hell. How the fuck did Oli end up at the safe-house?!   
“I’m on my way. Is everyone okay? Are you okay?”

“I-I-I don’t know,” Kellin sobbed. “Vic looks, oh god, he looks dead, Jaime.”

Jaime cursed loudly. “What about Tony and Mike?”

“I don’t know. I don’t know!”

“Okay, stay put. I’ll be there in a few minutes.”

 

-

 

Jamie kept the speed up on the small dirt road, making the car slightly more difficult to control. As soon as the house came into view he stepped on the brake. The car almost spun around and came to a sudden halt not far from the porch. Jaime pushed the door open and ran out, gun in his hand. The front door was open wide. Jaime ran up the few steps onto the porch where he made a brief stop to take a deep breath and pull himself together. After a silent count to three he swung in through the door. He quickly established the living room was secure. No hostile people in sight, though Tony was lying on the floor between the two couches. Jaime crouched down next to him, putting two fingers on his neck. As soon as he felt a steady pulse he got up again.

He continued down the hall, still no one from Sykes’ crew visible. Mike laid on the floor with a little pool of blood surrounding his head. Jaime looked at his friend and could see his chest rise and fall. Jaime pushed through and entered Vic’s room with his gun held out in front of him, ready to fire at anything that seemed to not be on his team. The sight that met him made him lower it immediately. The floor was full of bodies. Right by the door lay two guys Jaime knew belonged to Sykes’ crew. One of them had been shot multiple times, the other’s neck was broken. Sykes himself lay further into the room, in a huge pool of his own blood. Jaime took a few steps into the room, jumping over the dead bodies crowding the doorway.

“¡Dios mio!” Jaime breathed. “Kellin..? Vic?!”

“Here,” answered a weak voice. Jaime walked to the middle of the room and peered over to the other side of Vic’s king-size bed. Kellin was sitting on the floor with his back against the bedside table. Vic was laying partly next to him, partly on him. His head was placed against the left side of Kellin’s chest and arm, which he held around Vic’s body. In his right hand he held a gun. His hands were bloody.

“Are there any more of them?” Jaime asked, glancing at the door in suspicion.

“I didn’t know what t-t-to do. I…” Kellin rambled.

“It’s okay,” Jaime said calmly, kneeling beside Kellin and Vic. “Is Vic alright?”

“He’s breathing,” Kellin replied, looking down at the boy laying in his arms. “Did you see Tony and Mike?”

“Yes, they’re okay too. Or well, they will be,” Jaime answered as calm as he could manage under the given circumstances. “Kellin, can you give me the gun?”

Kellin looked up at Jaime in confusion. “What gun?”

Jaime slowly pointed at the gun Kellin held onto so hard his knuckles were whitening.

“Oh.” Kellin frowned. “Yeah. Yes, sure…”

Jaime held his hand out and Kellin carefully handed over the gun with a trembling hand. Jaime took out the magazine and tossed the two parts behind him. He pulled out his phone and quick hit 1 and call.

While the signals got through Jaime smiled to Kellin, trying to calm the poor kid down. He seemed to be more or less in shock. Finally someone answered Jaime’s call.

“What?”

“Doc, you’ve got anyone from the gang around?”

“Yes, Noah and Alejo…”

“Let me speak to Noah,” Jaime said and waited until he heard Noah’s voice at the other end of the line. “Noah, grab Doc and as many people as you can find and get your asses over to the safe house right now. Just follow the road where you picked up Alex and Jack. Mike, Tony and Vic are down and they all need medical attention.”

“What?!” Noah exclaimed. “Hold on!”

Jaime heard as he called out orders to the people surrounding him. “Doc, you’re with me and Alejo, we need to roll right now. Call everyone, tell them we need them. Vic is down. Come on, come on!”

“Noah, you need to really step on it. Sykes was here and almost killed Vic.”

“Shit, where is he now?”

“He’s lying right here. On the floor. In a pool of his own blood. So would you please hurry up?”

Jaime hung up before Noah had a chance to answer. He sighed deeply and then looked up at Kellin again. Kellin was looking at him, this time he seemed more active and awake. It was as if hearing their situation had made him snap out of his shock.

“What do you want me to do?” he wondered.

Jaime smiled at the braveness, trying his best to encourage him. “I’m gonna carry Vic to the living room and put him on a couch. A few of our guys are coming over here very soon to help us out. Maybe you can go and see if Mike or Tony has woken up?”

After a swift nod from Kellin, Jamie pulled Vic from the boy’s arms and carried him out of the room. It was not the first time he had carried his president around and it probably wouldn’t be the last. Vic had been shot a few years back, before he was pres, and they had almost lost him that time.

 

Jaime was anxious. If Sykes crew were coming for revenge he didn’t have much resistance to offer. He hoped Noah could gather the crew as fast as possible. He heard Kellin shuffle after him in the hallway. The guy had kept everything together nicely considering the circumstances. Jaime had definitely found a lot more respect for him. Jaime reached the living room and gently lowered Vic onto a sofa. He felt someone grab his ankle and pulled his foot away as fast as he could. Looking down, he realized he had forgotten about Tony laying on the floor, now uttering a painful groan.

“Tony?” Jaime exclaimed and kneeled down next to his friend. Tony pulled himself up on his elbows, desperate to pick himself up off the floor. Jaime grabbed his upper body and tried to steady him.

“Vic…”Tony mumbled, his voice strained.

“He’s alive,” Jaime answered, pulling Tony to his feet. “Mike’s out like light, but I think he’ll be okay. You’ll be fine too. Doc and the whole crew are on their way.”

“Sykes was… here,” Tony gritted out, his face deformed by grimaces of pain.

“I know,” Jaime replied. “Kellin shot him.”

“What?!” Tony yelled, for a moment able to focus his gaze on Jaime, who nodded.

“I’m serious, man. Sykes is dead. The whole crew are on their way here to back us up.”

Tony said nothing, just sank down on the couch opposite to Vic. He leaned back and closed his eyes, probably trying to get the upper hand of the excruciating headache he must be suffering from.

“Kellin?” Jaime called out. “How’s Mike?”

“Unconscious!” Kellin replied, sticking out his head from the hallway. “What should I do?”

“Can you..?”

Jaime got interrupted by the sound of roaring engines. Jaime gestured for Kellin to stay back, then drew his gun again and ran up to a window. Heaven or hell, this was the moment. He quickly peered out and sighed of relief. Heaven.

“It’s okay, Kellin,” he said before opening the door up to greet his brothers in arms. First man through the door was Doc with Noah high on his heels. Doc looked around the room and then hurried to Vic’s side before Jaime even had time to say anything. Instead he headed for Noah, embracing his friend.

“Just in time, man,” Jaime greeted him. “My nerves were about to give up.”

“I got… Who the fuck is that?!”

Jaime broke up the hug and spun around. Noah was staring at Kellin, who looked like he wished to disappear through the floor.

“That’s…”

“Is that Vic’s blood on his hands?” Noah growled quietly to Jaime, not tearing his eyes off Kellin.

“Yeah,” Jaime answered, putting a hand on Noah’s shoulder. “But he’s with us. He just saved Vic’s life.”

Noah’s eyes widened with shock. “He was here with Vic and Oli? When it all went down?”

Jaime nodded, quickly shooting Kellin a reassuring smile. Noah’s facial expression went from one of shock to discomfort.

“Fuck,” he mumbled to himself, making Jaime look funnily at him.

“What?”

“Nothing, or well,” Noah said and nodded to Kellin. “I mean look at him. Is he gonna, you know, be able to handle this? Why is he even here? He’s not like us, that’s visible from afar.”

“Shut up, Noah,” Jaime muttered, not finding it within himself to be patient. “You’ll get the info when Vic decides you need it.”

-

 

Kellin sat down on the floor, leaning his back against the wall in the living room while the people he presumed were Pierce the Veil ran around, moving the Fuentes’ brothers and constantly talking on the phone. In the middle of the mess was a middle aged, black man who Jaime referred to as ‘Doc’. Doc was not running around, he acted as if this was what he spent every day doing – calming overly nervous gang members and patching up leaders and their heirs. He moved between Tony, Mike and Vic for a while, checking them closely. He was the only calm one in the room though. Jaime tried to bring some order to the chaotic group who had invaded the small house. The raised voices, the different languages and the fast movements made Kellin dizzy. He slowly got up from the floor and walked to the bedroom. He leaned on the doorframe and looked at the bodies which were still on the floor. Oliver Sykes was on his stomach, bathing in his own blood and Kellin counted to five bullet wounds having torn up his back. Next to him lay another body, only two bullet holes – these ones in the chest. Kellin tried to process the fact that he had killed them. The third body had a bullet wound in his shoulder, but that hadn’t been his death. In the same moment as he had been shot, Vic had swept the guy’s legs away and as soon as his body hit the floor, Victor had broken his neck with one simple move before passing out. Kellin saw it repeating again and again. He wondered if this would be something that would haunt him forever. He knew he had done the right thing, it was either watching Vic die and eventually get killed himself, or trying to kill the others. Kellin was fully aware that he was crap at shooting and had therefore opened fire, shooting as many times as possible in the general direction of Oli and his men, hoping to God he wouldn’t hit Vic by accident. He hadn’t. It was pure luck.

 

A hand clamped down on his shoulder and he jumped. To his right Noah stood, watching the bloodbath.

“What happened?” he asked, sounding pissed.

“They almost killed Vic. I shot them,” Kellin summed up swiftly, not wanting to go into detail.

“What did they say?” Noah wondered, griping Kellin’s shoulder tighter. Too tight. Kellin felt backed into a corner.

“What do you mean?” Kellin turned to look at Noah. Something felt off.

“I mean: What did they say? How did they find you?” Noah pressed on, taking a step closer. Kellin couldn’t back away, he already had his back against the doorframe. Pressure started to build over his chest and his gaze flickered between Noah and the bodies on the floor. He couldn’t breathe. There was no air, there was no…

“What did they say?!”

“Noah! What are you doing?”

It was Jaime’s voice. It was Jaime’s voice, but Kellin couldn’t see him. He had settled his gaze on Noah and everything around him had turned black. His hands were shaking and he felt as if his knees would give out any second now.

“Noah, back the fuck off!” Suddenly Jaime was right in front of him and Noah was gone. Kellin almost fell into Jaime’s arms and the older guy embraced him, while giving angry orders to Noah. Kellin couldn’t hear what he said, it was all going black again and he still couldn’t breathe. Kellin closed his eyes.

“Kellin..? Kellin, can you hear me??”

Kellin opened his eyes again and immediately found Jaime’s. The world was clear, there was no darkness. His eyes flickered toward the pile of bodies again, but Jaime moved to block his view.

“Don’t look at them,” he advised. “You’ll be fine. I’ll get you out of here now, okay?”

Kellin nodded, knowing if he had spoken he wouldn’t have been able to hold the tears back.

“Breathe. I know it’s difficult, but we’ll help you, okay? You’re doing such a great job with keeping it together, Kellin.”

“I can’t… I can’t believe I did that, it’s…” Kellin interrupted himself.

“Kellin, listen to me. I’m gonna say this right now: You will be okay. It might not be today, or tomorrow or the day after that. Eventually you will be okay. Trust me,” Jaime said calmly and slowly.

Kellin nodded carefully.

“Do you trust me, Kellin?” Jaime asked, putting his hands on Kellin’s shoulders. He looked at him with worry.

“Yes, I do,” Kellin answered and he truly meant it.

“Good,” Jaime said, putting his arm around Kellin’s shoulder and starting to lead the way down the corridor. “Let’s get out of this dump.”

When they entered the living room again all people had cleared out, except the Fuentes’ brothers, Doc and Noah.

“What’s the situation, Doc?” Jaime asked.

“Victor is going to be very sore for a while, but he’ll be fine,” Doc answered. “He’s probably gonna be out for a while longer though, his body is exhausted. Michael needs a few stitches, but he should come around very soon. It’s safe to move them, we should probably get going. I can do more work back at HQ.”

“Okay,” Jaime nodded.

Doc’s eyes wandered around the room and then settled on Kellin. Kellin met his gaze and trired a smile, knowing he probably didn’t quite make it there. Doc’s gaze was sharp and clever, it told you he paid attention and knew what the heck he was doing. Now he squinted at Kellin. “How are you doing, son?”

Kellin nodded tiredly. “I’m fine.”

Doc hummed silently and left it alone.

“Hey, Kellin. Can you help Tony to one of the cars outside?” Jaime wondered, exchanging quick glances with Doc and Noah.

“Absolutely,” Kellin answered and without too much effort put Tony’s arm around his shoulders and slowly got the other to his feet from where he had been sitting on a couch. “Come on, Tony. Let’s get out of here.”

 

-

 

Jaime watched as Tony got up from the couch, while groaning with pain and discomfort. He leaned completely on Kellin and with slow steps the pair eventually made it out the door. Noah followed after them, carrying Mike. Doc turned to Jaime as soon as they were alone and Jaime knew immediately what was coming.

“Who is he?” Doc wondered.

“His name is Kellin,” Jaime answered vaguely. “It’s thanks to him we didn’t lose our pres.”

“He’s not used to this life, eh?” Doc raised an eyebrow.

Jaime chuckled. “Nah. Not at all.”

“You’ll see a change in him soon,” Doc said, sounding serious again. “What happened today is going to determine if he is cut from the same cloth as the rest of you.”

“He isn’t,” Jaime replied, hauling Vic into his arms. “But I think he is going to fit right in with us anyway. I think it’s a good thing, you know?”

Doc nodded. “That might very well be true. I want to take a look at him when we get back, just to make sure he’s okay. He seems so high on adrenaline, he might not even have realized he has been hurt yet.”

Jaime simply nodded, then turned away and left the safe house behind.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And now we can all collectively take a deep breath cause they are all alive. For now.


	16. Chapter 16

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Mike hates getting stitched up. Tony gets defensive. Kellin finally washes the blood off his hands. Vic wakes up bearing news.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> HIYAH I'M HERE. Ssshhh let's ignore how long this took. I'm working full time, three days a week in one town and studying at uni the other two days in another town and it's like two hours between them. It sucks. BUT MONEY.   
> ANYHOW ENOUGH ABOUT ME: ENJOY!

Kellin sat squeezed in between the door of the car and Tony. The guy sitting on the other side of Tony had introduced himself very calmly as Alejo. He had very curly, black hair and a kind smile and Kellin had decided that he liked him. Kellin was looking down at his hands. They were covered in blood, painted in different shades of red. He had seen it on them bloody before, but it had always been his own blood and that was a completely different thing. The adrenaline was starting to wear off and his hands had started to tremble. He was happy everyone was going to be okay. And yes, he decided to include himself in that category. He had faith in Jaime’s promise. Kellin wanted to close his eyes but all he saw when he did was the bullets ripping through flesh, blood staining the floor and walls and shirts. He had taken Vic’s gun from the floor by the bedside table. The next memory passing before him was the fury, determination and pain in Vic’s eyes as he snapped the neck of the only guy from the other team who was still standing. Vic’s disorientated look had been locked on Kellin for a few seconds after that, then his eyes had closed and Kellin had been left on his own, too scared and shocked to move. He didn’t really remember anything else before Jaime suddenly was there. Kellin kept his eyes open. What he saw when he closed them wasn’t worth it.

 

He turned and looked over his shoulder. Noah and someone else was following close behind them on motorcycles. Another car was driving in front of them. Vic and Mike was in that one with Doc and some other guy Kellin had never seen before. He had gotten used to the presence of Mike, Tony, Vic and Jaime, but these other gang members felt unfamiliar and hostile. He had decided to lay low while around other people, even though Alejo had gotten a mental thumbs up so far. Kellin had been promised to be left alone and free to leave after Vic could leave the safe house and he wondered if the boys would stay true to their word. On the other hand, where was he supposed to go? He had just killed two men. Shot one of them in the back. How could he possibly leave after something like that? He couldn’t go home to his father, too much had changed. He had started to actually enjoy the company of Vic and his friends. Especially Vic. Oh, Vic…

 

Too much thinking made his head swirl. He tried to look outside the window to focus on something different. San Diego flashed by on the other side of glass and Kellin felt more kept away from it than he had felt during his time in the safe house. Something was going to change – he knew it already. He could feel it. Someone put a hand on Kellin’s arm and brought his attention back to the car he was traveling in. He turned round and saw Tony looking at him. His eyes didn’t look as clouded anymore. He had gotten some colour back and seemed overall more awake.   
Kellin smiled to him.  “When I first met you I didn’t think I’d ever say this but… I’m glad you’re alive.”

Tony smiled tiredly and Jaime laughed in the driver’s seat. The seriousness written all over Tony’s face didn’t fade though and Kellin knew whatever he was about to say was heartfelt.

“Thanks for doing what you did. There’s no way we would have been alive otherwise.”

“Nah,” Kellin hesitated, not wanting to take credit. He tried laughing it off, but Tony’s grip on his arm tightened.

“I’m serious, Kellin,” he said. “Thank you. You saved all of us.”

Kellin looked at him for a while before answering. “No problem.”

Tony nodded and let go of Kellin’s arm.

“Where are we going anyway?” Kellin asked carefully, thinking they’d probably wouldn’t mind him asking after what they just had been through.

“To headquarters,” Jaime said. “We’re probably going to live there for a while until all of this blows over, or at least until we know where we stand with Sykes’ crew.”

“Oh…”

“Hey, I know Vic promised you that you were free to leave when he got out of the safe house,” Tony said. “But I think things just got a bit complicated. Be patient, dude. It’ll work itself out soon.”

“It’s okay,” Kellin answered truthfully. “I don’t have anywhere to go anyway.”

Tony gave him a sad, little smile, leaned back in his seat and closed his eyes again.

“How long until we get there, Jaime?” Kellin wondered, starting to feel a bit confined in the small car.

 

-

 

10 minutes later they arrived to headquarters. It was more central than Kellin had expected. It was a fairly large two story house, surrounded by high fences with locked gates. The security seemed to be on top, and evidently it was needed. They drove cross the big front yard and parked right outside the house itself. Bikes and cars were lined up along the house, tipping them off about a full attendance inside. Tony had told him that during emergencies (apparently this was classified as a fucking disaster of an emergency) all close members lived in headquarters until things calmed down. Kellin jumped out the car as soon as it came to a halt and ran around the side to open the door for Tony. Tony was not as groggy anymore and could walk on his own. Also Mike exited the other car on his own. Kellin sighed with relief when seeing younger Fuentes on his feet. Jaime ran over to the other car to help Noah carry Vic inside. Vic’s eyes were flickering open now and then, but he seemed pretty out of it. Jaime and Noah applied the four-handed-seat method and grabbed each other’s arms in a way that created a sort of seat for Vic to sit on. Vic held on to them as they carried him from the parking lot up to the house. Mike and Tony stumbled after them. Kellin shuffled behind, not really knowing what he was supposed to do. Suddenly the Doc showed up next to him.

“I’m happy that they all have woken up,” he said to Kellin.

“Me too,” Kellin answered shortly, feeling a bit insecure about the older man’s intention with the conversation. Doc didn’t say anything else, just followed along into the big house. The room they first entered were a huge open space, containing a hell of a lot people. There were a bar and pool tables, couches and a jukebox. As soon as Jaime and Noah had entered with Vic the place fell dead silent. Everyone parted to make way for the company of injured brothers. Kellin inhaled sharply and walked through the crowd without looking at anyone. It felt as if he could hear the others questioning his presence even though the room was completely quiet. Jaime and Noah led the way up a staircase and then turned to a private wing of the house.

“The actually initiated members of Pierce the Veil has one room each here. When things go to hell, like now, they all live here,” Doc explained. “They live in the other wing or on the floor above this one. This wing is exclusively for Vic and whoever he chooses though. Mike also has a room here, for example.”

Kellin just nodded, trying to take everything in. Finally Jaime and Noah put Vic down to open a door. On the other side was a bedroom, at least twice the size of the one Kellin and Vic had been sharing in the safe house. They let Vic lay down on the double bed. He had lost consciousness again. Kellin watched from a distance, not wanting to be in the way. He tried not to touch anything even though the blood on his hands had dried since long. Tony stood beside him and watched the chaos.

“There’s not much we can do here right now. Let’s go over to my room and get you washed up,” he said and put his hand on Kellin’s shoulder.

“What are they going to do?” he asked and pointed at Vic, and Doc who were by his patient’s side.

“Just dry off the blood and maybe get a few stitches in place,” Tony said. “The rest is going to have to heal on its own, I believe.”

Kellin didn’t have to come up with an answer, since Tony gently led him out of the room, hand still on Kellin’s shoulder.

“Tony! Kellin!” Mike shouted after them, making both of them turn around. Mike was sprinting towards them, but Doc’s sharp voice called him back.

“Michael Fuentes, do not step your foot outside this room before I’ve closed that wound!”

Mike stopped dead in his tracks and the look of despair on his face made both Tony and Kellin grin.

“Of course not Doc, I was just closing the door,” Mike answered calmly and mouthed to Tony and Kellin; _Save me now._

Tony just shook his head. Mike flipped him off and closed the door. Tony once again urged Kellin forward.

“Better not be around for that,” Tony grinned, but the happiness didn’t reach his eyes. “Mike hates getting stitched up. He prefers just letting it heal as it is.”

“Well, it was a nasty gash on his forehead,” Kellin commented and was just about to continue that statement when they were once again interrupted.  

“Hey Tony!”

They both turned around. Behind them stood a, to Kellin, completely unfamiliar person. He was almost exactly the same height as Tony and had long, red hair which looked like it hadn’t been combed or washed for days. The pair of green, piercing eyes made Kellin uncomfortable, especially when they were accompanied by a frown.

“Hi Max!” Tony greeted and waved awkwardly. “I’m in a bit of a hurry, kind of… Gotta get this guy cleaned up.”

Kellin felt a slight blush stain his cheeks as Tony used him as an excuse to get out of the conversation.

“Who’s this?” Max wondered and stepped closer to them.

“A friend,” Tony said and tried to go for a smile. “We’ll let you all know as soon as we know the details, okay?”

“People are getting jumpy down there,” Max told Tony. “Rumors circling around. About your ‘friend’ being part of Sykes’ crew.”

“He’s not,” Tony stated roughly. “Go back downstairs and calm people down. We’ll get back to you asap.”

Max took another step closer and Tony stepped between him and Kellin, gently pushing Kellin backwards toward the door Mike had just closed.

“I told you to fuck off,” Tony hissed through gritted teeth. “So fuck off. If you lay a hand on this guy Vic will cut your eyes out with a spoon.”

Max hesitated. Kellin had never seen Tony this defensive. It was very close to fascinating.  

“I’m not joking,” Tony warned, jabbing a finger in Max’ direction. “And I’m not in the mood to be questioned. Get the fuck out of here before I lose my patience.”

Max stepped back, expressionless. “Let us know as soon as possible.”

“Sure. Tell everyone to leave us alone up here for now,” Tony answered without moving a single muscle. Max nodded once before disappearing down the stairs.

“Come on, let’s go,” Tony urged, this time there were a clear strain in his voice and his steps were a bit more hurried than before. He guided Kellin down the hallway closest to Vic’s wing of the floor. They stopped outside a room and Tony fished out a key to unlock the door.

“We usually don’t lock our doors,” he said. “But since I’ve been away for so long I thought it might be for the best.”

Kellin entered after Tony and closed the door behind them on Tony’s request. He leaned his back against the door and looked at Tony who sank down on the bed, leaning his elbows on his knees, pulling his hands through his hair.

“Who was that?” Kellin asked emptily. He didn’t have enough energy to deal with this. “What did he want?”

“He’s called Max. He’s… Not entirely happy with Vic’s leadership. It’s a long and complicated story, but we don’t really trust him. He’s more loyal to others in the gang than to Vic, people he’d love to see lead Pierce The Veil,” Tony explained, looking as tired as Kellin felt. “I probably shouldn’t tell you, but it is most likely him who has given information to Oli Sykes.”

“What did he want with me?” Kellin wondered with bewilderment.

“I don’t know,” Tony said. “But there is a lot of confusion going on downstairs right now. We need to inform them as soon as possible, then it’ll be cool for you to walk around on your own.”

“I’d rather not,” Kellin mumbled to himself.

“Hey,” Tony said sharply, making Kellin look up at him. “You’re here as a guest of Vic’s. Don’t let anyone get you down. If you get in trouble with anyone, just come get one of us and we’ll handle it. That’s the least we can do.”

Kellin just nodded, feeling a lump in his throat. Since when had they started to willingly look out for him? He asked himself that question and wanted to hit himself the next second. He knew they cared. “Here as a guest” - well, yes. Maybe this weird experience had started as something else, but somehow the four slightly crazy Mexicans had managed to get closer to Kellin than anyone ever had. Vic had saved his life. He had saved their once. You don’t just walk out of that the same way you walked in. He had picked up their change in attitude and he had gotten to know them. Most of the time he could tell if they were lying or not and so on. He knew stuff. Did he consider these guys his friends? He probably was crazy, but yes. Yes, he did. Was he still in love with Vic Fuentes after this? Hell yes. Tony woke him from his thoughts.

“Okay, let’s get you in the shower,” he said, getting up and to the closet. He dug out a pair of sweatpants and a t-shirt. “These will probably make do. The shower is in there, clean towels are hanging on the wall.”

“Thanks,” Kellin nodded and walked in the direction Tony was pointing.  He locked the door to the bathroom and slowly removed his clothes. All the adrenaline had worn off and all that was left was paranoia, tiredness and reality. Kellin didn’t really want it. He stepped into the shower and turned the water on, as hot as he could possibly handle. The burning warmth against his skin made his muscles relax. The blood from his hands started to come off and he could see it swirl down the drain. Vic’s blood. Probably a bit of Oliver’s too. Kellin felt sick. He wanted to close his eyes, but couldn’t find it without himself to do it. He watched as the bloody water pooled around his feet. His head felt like it was going to explode, or implode. It was noisy and quiet at the same time. It was a vacuum still not. His skin was burning and was turning a faint red. He turned the temperature down just a bit. He felt his heart beat steadily and he heard his pulse in his ears. He had to close his eyes. He sat down on the tile floor and allowed himself to cry as he closed his eyes and let it all replay before them – again and again.

 

-

 

Tony left a note on the bed and slipped through the door, barely making a sound. His stealth had always been impressive. Mike had sent him a text two minutes ago stating that Vic was in the process of waking up and that Tony should ‘haul his sorry ass over here right the fuck now’. Tony had scowled at the language use, but this was Mike after all, so he shrugged it off. He quickly sent a text to Noah, telling him to send Alejo upstairs to check on Kellin in half an hour. Alejo and Kellin seemed to have accepted each other in a much better way than Kellin and Noah had. Tony walked quickly through the halls, not letting anyone stop him for a small chat. He was man, even if so a worried man, with a mission and above all a destination. He walked straight into Vic’s room without knocking. Jaime was leaning again the wall right next to the door, biting his nails anxiously while watching Doc carrying a quiet conversation with Vic. Mike was pacing back and forth, looking like he wanted to kill something. The gash on his forehead had been stitched and covered. All of these things were nothing a lot of hours of good sleep couldn’t solve, Tony figured. He knew Mike and sleep solved all of Mike’s problem. Sometimes an amount of alcohol had to be thrown into the mix, but everyone had their vices he supposed. The boys said nothing to each other while they waited for Doc to finish his job. Vic was bruised badly, but Tony knew he had tackled worse beatings than this one. He’d be fine. Eventually Doc left Vic’s side and looked at the boys, one after the other.

“He’s all yours,” he stated and started packing up his things. Mike practically flew to Vic’s side and took his brothers hand. Jaime and Tony followed him in a calmer manner

“Holy shit, Vic,” he mumbled, not able to get anything else out at the moment. Vic tried to smile, but it got lost somewhere among the bruises and pain.

“Glad to see you still standing,” Jaime smiled carefully. “or well… You know what I mean.”

“Where’s… Kellin?” Vic breathed, looking around.

“Seriously?” Mike exclaimed. “I’m your brother and I’m right here, thank you very much. I am more important than him.”

Tony lashed at the back of Mike’s head and the younger Fuentes howled with pain, causing the rest of them to laugh.

“You all suck,” Vic said, looking lovingly at them all before closing his eyes. When he opened them again, they were burning. Tony and Jaime glanced at each other, worry quickly spreading through their systems. There were only two people on the planet whose eyes could burn like that, with that much hate and fury, and it was the Fuentes’ brothers. Vic clenched his jaws in pain and he raised his hand and gripped Mike’s arm with force.

Mike scowled. “Vic..?”

“Noah!” Vic gritted out. “It was Noah.”

“It was Noah who what?” Jaime wondered, not following the slightest. Neither did Tony.

“He…” Vic paused, breathing through the pain. “He sold me out.”

The room fell deadly quiet. Tony felt his mouth practically falling open and as he glanced at Jaime he saw his eyes were wider than he’d ever seen them. Mike had his back to them, but the increasing tension in his shoulder suggested he felt the same as them. No one said anything and Vic’s eyes desperately wandered between them. There was other possible meaning to Vic’s words than that Noah had given intel to Sykes. But that… No.

“He… He sold us out,” Vic said again, louder this time as if he was trying to force the words through their minds so they could process them properly. It crashed down on Tony. Everything this meant crashed down on him and it was lucky that he had experience, otherwise he would have caved completely in this moment. In the middle of his internal struggle, Jaime’s silence and Mike’s threats, Tony had a realization.

“Fuck!” he yelled and dashed for the door. “Kellin!”

 

-

 

After the shower Kellin huddled up in Tony’s white t-shirt, which was too big for him, and put on a pair of his own black jeans. Sweatpants weren’t his thing, he felt more relaxed and at peace wearing his own stuff. When he exited the bathroom he realized the room was empty and for a moment he panicked. His eyes eventually landed on a note on the bed. He leaped cross the room and read it.

 

‘ _Meeting with the boys. Vic woke up._  
I’ll come to get you ASAP, he wants to see you.   
Please stay here. / Tony Turtle’

 

He woke up! A smile found its way to Kellin’s lips before he had even realized it and despite how tired he was, despite how fucking wrecked he felt – something of a lighter nature began glowing in the pit of his stomach and in his chest. A little bit of weight left his shoulders. He sat down on the bed and read the note two more times, just to be sure. There was a knock on the door and Kellin swept away all warning clocks, all doubts. He ran to the door, unlocked it and opened it up wide, expecting to be met by Tony’s relived smiled. He blink once, then two more times to let the information sink in. He wanted to run or slam the door shut, but somehow he froze. Because outside the door wasn’t Tony. It was Noah.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope that was nice. I'll try to update asap again but it might be a bit shaky cause damn I'm stressed out. Love you all though.


	17. Chapter 17

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Chaos at HQ.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> GUESS WHO HAS BEEN WRITING INSTEAD OF STUDYING?

Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Tony dashed through the hallways, not caring if he knocked anyone over or ran into someone. There was nothing that could stop him now. His head felt like it was going to explode, but he didn’t have time to think about that. Mike was running behind him, scattering ‘sorry’s to the people they ran into as they flew past. The door to his room was open. Not a good sign. Tony stopped sharply in the doorway, looking into the room. On the floor by the door was the note he had left on the bed for Kellin to read once he had finished his shower. Tony picked it up and turned to Mike. Mike’s eyes briefly looked over the words, then took in the empty room.

“He would never have left,” he concluded. “Not if he was waiting for you to take him to Vic.”

“Exactly,” Tony nodded, turning his back to Mike. “Fuck, I shouldn’t have left him alone!”

Mike gripped his shoulders and turned him around again. Tony refused to meet his eyes.

“Tony!” Mike said sharply and Tony looked up at him by reflex. “It’s not your fault. Go look downstairs, ask if anyone has seen Noah or Kellin. I’ll check Noah’s room and the rest of the upper floor.”

Tony nodded absent-mindedly, taking off toward the stairs. On his way down, he looked through the crowd of people gathered on the bottom floor and noticed Alejo sitting by the bar, also keeping an eye on the people. Tony made his way over to him immediately.

“Alejo,” he said, slightly out of breath. “Have you seen Kellin?”

“The shy dude?” Alejo wondered. Tony narrowed his eyes, not sure if they were talking about the same guy.

“Black hair and fairly tall? Blue eyes?” Alejo elaborated quickly, looking slightly frightened.

“Yes! Have you seen him?” Tony stressed.

“Noah went in here a couple of minutes ago, asking to borrow my car. I think I saw Kellin get in the car with him, but I’m not sure. I parked pretty far away. It could have been any other black haired dude from here,” Alejo offered, then scowled. “Why are you wondering?”

Tony felt his heart sink. “Noah left?”

“Yes, a couple of minutes ago. He didn’t tell me where he was going or when he would be back,” Alejo answered. “I tell from your face that’s the wrong answer. What’s going on?”

Tony pulled his hands through his hair and sighed to himself, urging himself to think. His phone buzzed in his pocket, and he fished it up, hoping Mike would write all of this off as a simple misunderstanding. ‘ _Nothing up here. U?_ ’ Tony let out a small growl.

“Is Kellin or Noah in trouble?” Alejo pressed on, trying to catch Tony’s eyes again. “Can I help?”

“Find Max for me,” Tony snapped, looking up at Alejo. “Bring him to Vic’s room and for god’s sake, knock.”

Alejo made an affirmative sound and started to make his way through the crowd. Tony sent a reply to Mike, forwarding it to Jaime. ‘ _He’s gone. Noah too. Vic’s room now.’_

 

-

 

Mike practically punched the door open and leaped into the room. He hoped it wasn’t too late. His brother was sitting on the edge of his bed, hands desperately gripping the wooden frame of it. His knuckles were whitening. Mike didn’t like it, but to be honest he expected the room to be in shards by now. Vic was leaning forward, his hair hanging down to cover his bruised and beaten face. Mike could see by the movements of his back that he was trying to take deep breaths. He glanced at Doc and Jaime who were standing in the far corner of the room, looking pleadingly at Mike.

“Vic…” Mike said warily. Vic said nothing, he didn’t even move. The silence got more pressing by each second. Everyone was waiting for the inevitable. Mike decided for a new approach and slowly walked up to Vic, putting a hand on his shoulder. Vic reacted immediately. He flew up from the bed and violently pushed Mike away.

“Don’t touch me!” he yelled. The fury in his eyes made Mike unwillingly take a step back. Mike glanced at Jaime and Jaime looked back with the same expression Mike was showing. ‘Here it goes’.

It did not actually get an opportunity to go in any way, because in the same second Tony walked through the door, staring with wide eyes at Vic, then at Mike as he closed the door behind him.

“Where is he?!” Vic asked, his voice low and just on the brink of control. Tony looked at him again.

“Alejo gave Noah his car keys a few minutes ago. Noah didn’t say where he was going or when he would be back. Alejo also saw another person enter the car. The person had black hair, but there’s no way to be sure it was Kellin,” Tony rambled, looking devastated and lost. Vic gave an angry roar and grabbed the bedside table and threw it across the room, making Jaime jump away to avoid being hit. Doc raised his eye brows, while Mike sighed to himself. How could Vic even do that? He was unconscious not that long ago, for fuck’s sake! What kind of painkillers did Doc stuff him full of? None of these questions got answered. Mike hurried up to him, gripping his upper arms with decisiveness.

“Calm down, brother,” he said quietly as Vic trashed around, trying to make him let go. He didn’t. Eventually Vic caved and Mike put his hands on Vic’s shoulders, guiding him over to the bed. Vic sat down with a groan of pain.

“You shouldn’t throw things around in your condition, Victor,” Doc remarked from the corner he was standing in. Vic glared up at him.

“I got a beating, I’m not pregnant,” Vic bit back, eyes burning. Doc nodded once, but said nothing. Vic leaned his elbows on his knees again, leaning forward, clenching his teeth. Mike squatted down in front of him.

“We’ll find them,” he said, patting Vic’s knee, hoping he sounded at least a little bit sure of himself. He stood up and looked at Jaime and Tony. “Okay. So let’s think out loud. I think it’s safe to say that Noah has kidnapped Kellin from right under our noses. It’s not likely he did it for kicks, he wants something…”

“He’ll contact us. We’ll have to wait,” Tony filled in where Mike left off.

“Until he does, you should probably lay down, Vic,” Jaime butted in with caution. “You want to be ready for whatever comes next.”

Vic nodded, saying nothing, looking at no one. “But what does he want?”

“What did Oli tell you?” Mike asked.

“Not much. He said he wanted my territory, not my guys. That doesn’t work out though. He need more manpower to control both my territory and the one he’s already got. Either he has signed off with another gang, or he needs PTV.”

“Would have needed,” Tony corrected. “We don’t know how well his crew will function without their leader. They might just give up.”

Jaime huffed. “Let’s not keep our hopes up about that. They’ll fight. The question is on who’s orders…”

“Noah’s,” Vic said simply. Mike thought for a moment. It made sense. Dear lord, he would kill Noah himself.

“Noah and Oli probably made a pact. Noah has followers in PTV. They’d probably take the guys who wanted to follow Oli and kill the rest,” Tony said quietly.

“I’m going to fucking kill him,” Mike hissed out as a side note. He knew all the others in the room felt the same way, perhaps with an exception in Doc. He wasn’t much for violence. One could wonder how he ended up working for a gang, then on the other hand, his job was to patch them up – the opposite of violence. He created some sort of balance.

“The question is will Oli’s guys follow Noah now or is the deal off?” Jaime wondered. The room fell silent. It was impossible to find an answer to that question. Mike couldn’t think of a single way to find out other than reaching out to Oli’s crew and something told him they wouldn’t appreciate that, considering someone from PTV’s camp just killed their president. A sharp knock on the door made everyone in the room jump.

“I asked Alejo to find Max and bring him,” Tony explained, all eyes falling on him. “If anyone knows anything, it’s him.”

Mike nodded appreciatively to Tony. “Good thinking.”

“Doc, I want you out of here,” Vic piped up from the bed. Doc’s eyes snapped to him and for a moment Mike thought the old man was going to object. Something changed in his expression though, letting Mike sigh with relief.

“Don’t leave the bed,” Doc recommended. Vic made the sign of the cross. Doc merely huffed, before exiting the room. Tony waved at Alejo and Max to enter in his place. Alejo looked calm, but his eyes moved imploringly around the room and it was obvious he tried to put the pieces together. Max, on the other hand, looked absolutely expressionless. Tony closed the door behind them and leaned against it. Vic looked up and Max was visibly taken aback by his state.

“I was about to ask what happened, but realized I already know,” Max said, looking sternly at Vic.

“What do you know about Noah?” Vic asked, moving to actually lie down in the bed. Mike was surprised, but relived.

“That’s… That’s a long list,” Max said quizzically. “Can you be more specific?”

“Places where he’d hide out,” Jaime jumped in, leaving the table he had been seated on and started to walk around Max and Alejo. “Maybe what his plan is?”

Max was quiet. He looked down at his feet for a while, before sighing deeply. “Fuck.”

“What was that?” Mike wondered, stepping closer.

“He’s in deep, isn’t he?” Max asked, looking at Vic, who nodded.

“You’re going to be in pretty deep too if you don’t start talking,” Jaime said, having stopped behind Max.

“He’s my best friend,” Max objected, turning to look at Jaime. Jaime grabbed the back of his neck and turned his head to Vic. Jaime pointed at the beaten boy and hissed out; “And that’s your president. Pick a fucking side.”

Jaime let him go again with a slight push. Mike noted how completely focused Max was, trying to calculate the chances and risks.

“Look,” he said eventually. “I can’t give him up. I can’t be the reason for any harm to come to him…”

Jaime pushed him backwards so hard he almost fell over.

“Listen here, you little shit,” he said loudly. “Your little pal Noah is the one who has been ratting us out to Oli Sykes. There is absolutely nothing that says that you haven’t helped him all along. Now he has taken off with Kellin.”

“He what? No. Who’s Kellin?” Max asked, obviously confused.

“The guy you met me with in the hallway earlier,” Tony explained shortly.

“Max.” Vic’s voice was smooth as silk, luring everyone’s attention to him. He looked right at Max, all anger held back just enough to leave room for some fierce determination.  While scratching his neck with his index finger, he continued; “If you let us know where we can find them, we won’t ask again how involved you’ve been in the Sykes-business.”

“He must mean a lot to you then,” Max said after a while, visibly relaxing a bit.

“He does and I made him a promise I intend to keep,” Vic told him. A calm exterior lulled them all into a false sense of security. All but Mike. He had clear sight of the flickering flames in those brown, piercing eyes. His mouth was forming a tight-lipped smile.

“I have a few places you can check out, but I don’t think he’s there,” Max relented and crossed his arms. “I can try to reach out to him if you want to, but then you have to hold on with checking those hideouts. If he gets to know they have been searched, he’ll know I ratted him out.”

Mike glanced at Vic. Their eyes met for a moment and Vic gave Mike the answer he needed.

“Okay,” Mike said, turning to Max, drawing attention away from Vic. “Let’s move this to my room. Come on, let’s move.”

Tony opened the door and Alejo followed closely behind Max as he exited the room. Jaime hesitated, but then accompanied Mike out of the room.

 

-

 

Vic was devastated and angry. The two strong emotions were fighting for control and Vic sat back and waited for an appointed winner. His mind was racing, thinking of all the things he would do to Noah if he found him, what Noah could possibly want from him in exchange for Kellin and above all what state Kellin was in now. There were too many unanswered question for Vic’s liking and sitting around waiting felt like wasting time. Vic hated wasting time. The door gave a quiet squeak as it was once again opened and Vic bit his tongue not to throw an insult at Jaime, who walked in. Without saying anything, Jaime walked across the room and picked up the chair from the floor. He dragged it across the room to in front of Vic’s bed and sat down on it, leaning his arms over the back of it.

“Talk to me,” he said as if this had been any casual conversation. Vic knew it was time to spill. He would go crazy otherwise and time would hopefully pass faster if he was kept occupied – even if so by Jaime’s stupid questions.

“I promised him he’d be safe with me,” Vic found himself opening the conversation with.

“He wasn’t with you when he disappeared,” Jaime pointed out.

“That’s not the point,” Vic remarked, glaring at Jaime. “No one is to blame.”

“True! Progress!” Jaime chanted. “This means it’s not your fault either.”

Vic rolled his eyes. “I know.”

“Do you?” Jaime narrowed his eyes at him and Vic knew he was trying to figure him out. Vic tried to put on his most indifferent exterior, failing tremendously.

“This was not what he came here for,” Vic said quietly, looking down at his hands and arms. His arms had bruises formed as fingerprints. He let his fingers trace over them, resisting the temptation of pressing into them.

“Vic..?”

Jaime’s voice was filled with caution, having noticed how Vic got stuck on the bruises. Vic wanted to say something, wanted to continue, but if felt as if his throat had closed and his eyes were watering. Fuck. This was not him keeping himself together and distracted. Breaking down was not on his agenda. Suddenly he became aware of the pain, as if demolishing one of his walls brought them all down. His whole body ached and he sank down against the pillows, closing his eyes. He heard the scraping of the chair and the bed moved and Jaime sat down next to him.

“Are you in pain?” Jaime wondered quietly.

“It wasn’t supposed to go down like this Jaime,” Vic sighed.

“Are you in pain?” Jaime repeated stubbornly.

“Yes,” Vic gritted out. “I’m fucking black and blue. Everything hurts!”

"Sorry," Jaime said. "We should send Alejo downstairs to update everyone. We'll send them out looking for Alejo's car."

"Get it done," Vic replied.

Jaime sighed deeply. “We’ll find him, Vic.”

Vic said nothing. Sure, they would probably find Kellin eventually. The question was if he would be dead or alive.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm so fucked hahahaha well there was a chapter. Can't really determine the quality of it, but there it is anyway. Next up: What happens to Kellin and Noah's intentions.   
> I just felt like putting you guys through a bit more misery before letting you know how Kellin's doing. Sorry.


	18. Chapter 18

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kellin being brave, but eventually caving in. Noah being an ass. Threats are made. A lot of them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> YAY! I'm at it again. I didn't think I'd make it cause it's my birthday today so I've been busy, but here it is. My gift to you.

Kellin woke up with a gasp. The bright light in the room momentarily blinded him and the room itself spun round and round for a while. The sickly sweet taste and smell of chloroform still lingered in his nose and mouth. It was disgusting. He sat in a chair, which weren’t very comfortable. It had a metal frame and his wrists were tightly cuffed to the armrests of it. The cold, silvery metal had already cut through his skin, leaving a rather bloody mess. It probably hurt, but Kellin’s heart was beating so fast and his brain was sending out so much adrenaline he could barely feel a thing. The dizziness quickly subsided. Kellin looked around, finding no leads concerning where he was. The room looked like a sparsely decorated office in terms of style. He was facing a desk with a chair behind it. He couldn’t see any windows or doors, but his best guess was that there was a door behind his back. The last thing he remembered was getting in the car Noah had brought him to. Noah had pressed a cloth with chloroform against his face, and Kellin had immediately recognized the smell of it and tried not to breathe, but of course it was only a question of time before he had to. Two small breaths had been enough, the next thing he knew everything had gone black. Noah had to have done something else to him to keep him unconscious long enough for the entire car ride and setting him up in this room though. Kellin didn’t know how long he had been out, but it must have been more than 20 to 30 seconds, which was the usual amount of time chloroform knocked you out for.

 

Kellin willed himself to take two deep breaths. It would be fine. This was just a misunderstanding. Vic was already looking for him. Oh god, he was going to die. He was… No. Kellin tried to shut out the thoughts, tried to find something within himself to hold onto. His self-control slowly but surely slipped away and he tore as hard as he could to try and get the cuffs to loosen, to by some miracle, give in to he could get out. It didn’t work. The cuffs buried themselves deeper into his wrists. With a panicked scream he sank back in the chair, accepting his fate.

“Shit, shit, shit,” he mumbled to himself as he studied the blood flowing from his wrists, dropping onto the floor, a few drops running down his hand. “Fucking hell.”

He positioned his arms in the way that hurt the least, then tried very carefully not to move them. As he leaned back and closed his eyes a familiar scene flashed before his eyes.

 

_He sat perched up on Justin’s kitchen counter. His face felt like it was going to explode, it felt like it was pulsating with every heartbeat. The kitchen was faintly lit, partly because Kellin’s imploding headache couldn’t handle any more and also to not wake Justin’s parents up. Justin grimaced as he put another pad with cool water against a gash on Kellin’s chin._

_“You don’t get to wince,” Kellin rasped out. “You are not the one with a bleeding face.”_

_Justin smiled meekly, glancing at Kellin before focusing on the gash again. He removed and reapplied the pad, applying pressure to stop the bleeding._

_“Ouch!” Kellin called out, desperately leaning back to get the pressure to lessen. Justin followed, not letting the pressure subside._

_“Think happy thoughts,” he advised, looking decisive. “Or angry thoughts, whatever sparks your fire, man.”_

 

A door opened and Kellin opened his eyes quickly. He stopped himself from looking over his shoulder, knowing he’d have to move his arms in order to see properly. He looked into the wall opposite to him without blinking, listening intently as the footsteps got closer and closer. A shadow fell over Kellin, as the person behind him leaned forward, resting their hands on the back of the chair, just above Kellin’s shoulders. Kellin tried to remember to breathe.

“I’m having a hard time figuring you out, Kellin…”

Kellin recognized the voice as Noah’s and sighed, tensing a bit more.

“I’m going to ask this once, and once only before things get ugly,” Noah continued. His hands let go of the chair and clamped down on Kellin’s shoulders. Kellin flinched, moving his arms by reflex when trying to get away from Noah’s touch. He didn’t manage to suppress a gasp of pain. Noah elected to ignore it. He leaned down further and Kellin felt the warm breath against his neck as Noah whispered;

“Who are you?”

Then he was gone again. This time he walked into view, sitting down on the desk. Kellin swallowed as Noah lit a cigarette. Kellin didn’t know how to answer that question. In relation to Noah, he was no one.

“What do you want?” he asked cautiously, focusing all his attention on Noah. The way he carried himself screamed control as well as carelessness.

“I have landed myself in some troubles, or more correctly, you landed me in some troubles,” Noah explained.

“What do you want with me?” Kellin asked, frowning.

“I don’t know yet,” Noah replied, taking the cigarette from his lips and blew out smoke. His eyes followed the smoke as it slowly rose toward the ceiling and dispersed.  When his gaze settled on Kellin again, he was focused, clenching his teeth for a moment before continuing to speak. “You killed Oliver Sykes, which put me in a very vulnerable position. Oli and I had plans. Great plans. Until you killed him, now I’m out in the cold, not knowing who is after my head and who’s not. For that I should hand you over to Oli’s crew and let them have their way with you.”

Kellin’s eyes went wide and his heartbeat picked up again. Firstly, Noah was the rat. That explained how offensive and aggressive he had been at the safe-house, cornering Kellin like he had. Secondly, Kellin hadn’t even spared this perspective a thought. It hadn’t crossed his mind that when he killed Oliver Sykes, he killed a gang leader. He killed a very valuable person. Now a gang stood leaderless and revengeful, wanting blood. His blood. Kellin felt the familiar pressure settle across his chest, making it impossible to breathe. Noah’s voice broke the silence and his racing thoughts, managing to throw the impending panic attack off for the moment.

“But there is something else about you… Jaime got really angry when I pressured you at the safe house. He got… protective. That’s kind of his thing though, so I wrote it off, but then Max told me about when you and Tony ran into him. Tony said that Vic would rip Max’s eyes out. Some bells started ringing in my head of course. These guys have really gone out of their way to in some degree protect you. Why? What’s so special about you, Kellin?”

Noah tilted his head to the left, obviously handing the word over to Kellin. It was clear that he wanted an answer this time.

“Nothing,” Kellin croaked out. “There’s nothing special about me.”

“Funny,” Noah remarked sarcastically. “What were you even doing in Victor’s safe house?”

“I… I was just a guest,” Kellin tried. Noah shot forward and Kellin flinched away as far as he could – not very far, considering the fact he was stuck in the chair. Noah took the cigarette from his lips and held it worryingly close to Kellin’s forearm.

“Try again?” he offered calmly, looking at Kellin’s eyes which flickered between him and the cigarette. Kellin hesitated and Noah made an effort to bring the cigarette down against his skin.

“Jaime brought me there!” Kellin spilled so fast he stumbled over the words. “Jaime brought me there, I didn’t even know any of them before.”

“Why are they so protective of you?” Noah demanded and Kellin could hear in his voice this wasn’t negotiable.

“We’re friends. We’ve become good friends,” he rambled with fear. “Vic and I…”

He stopped himself. He didn’t even know. Vic and he was in such an early stage they hadn’t even settled for calling it a relationship. It was what it was. It was all a mess of loving emotions and attraction and cheesy compliments and constant smiles. Noah must have picked up on something unsaid though, because he leaned back and took another drag from the cigarette.

“Vic has fallen for you,” he concluded, with a smile. “Oh my goodness, he has fallen for you. That’s… That’s perfect!”

Kellin stared at him. “What?”

“That’s genius. That’s exactly what I need. He’ll do anything to get you back.”

Kellin’s heart sank. Once again the pressure appeared over his chest and it was difficult, nearly impossible to breathe. His vision lost focus and slowly the room started spinning again. This couldn’t be happening. The choice was between being killed or having Vic sacrifice god knows what for his sake. This was not what he had come to San Diego for. This was not how this was supposed to be. He cursed Noah and Vic and Jaime and Justin and… “ _Think happy thoughts. Or angry thoughts, whatever sparks your fire, man_.” Kellin could hear Justin’s voice breaking through the noise his thoughts were making and he held onto the words. He repeated them over and over again until the room stopped spinning and he could clearly see Noah, who was staring at him, looking unimpressed.

“You truly are easily triggered,” he noted, but didn’t pressure Kellin until his breathing was back to normal. “I asked a question earlier and it still needs answering. Who are you? Where are you from?”

Kellin gave a whimper. Not this too. Not everything. He didn’t want Noah to unravel everything that he managed to so neatly keep in check. He didn’t want Noah to get even more material to pressure Vic with. He kept silent. Noah held Kellin’s gaze while pressing the cigarette into Kellin’s forearm. Kellin screamed.

 

-

 

The signals went through one after the other and Jaime was starting to grow impatient. They had pressured Max for all the information he would give them, and the familiar name of a gang in L.A. had popped up as a possible ally to Noah.

“Sam, if you are pranking me again…” Ben Bruce’s voice was heard on the other end of the line. He sounded drowsy and Jaime figured he had woken him up.

“Ben,” he interrupted. “Give to phone to Danny.”

“Jaime?!” Ben exclaimed, seemingly sobering up in the matter of a few seconds. “I thought you were…”

“I know,” Jaime said shortly. “Now, please give the phone to Danny.”

“Danny’s not here anymore.”

Jaime stopped pacing around and raised his eyebrows. “What do you mean?”

“He left,” Ben said and Jaime could hear the sensitivity of the subject in the way Ben’s voice wavered.

“Okay… Who took over Asking Alexandria?” Jaime wondered, feeling the urge to ask more, but held himself back.

“I did,” Ben answered without missing a beat.

“Where did he go?” Jaime asked, frowning deeply.

“Up north, with some other gang. We had relations with them a few years back,” Ben explained, voice indifferent and straight to the point. “What do you want?”

Right. Jaime had a purpose of this call. “I heard you are closely associated with Noah Evans.”

“Your Noah Evans?” Ben asked.

“He’s not ours anymore,” Jaime stated. “I’m calling to _advise_ you to not make him yours either. If you see him, I need you to call us immediately.”

Ben was quiet for a while. “Why would I do that? He’s been good to us.”

Jaime rolled his eyes in impatience, but kept his voice assertive. “How are your relations with the Brides? As good as our relation with them?”

“Are you threatening me?” Ben asked, irritation loud and clear for Jaime to notice.  
“Yes, I am,” Jaime said, raising his voice. “Noah has kidnapped our friend and we have no idea where he is. If I find out you have been hiding him, now or later, I will get the Brides to slaughter every single one of you. Don’t think they wouldn’t.”

“I don’t doubt it,” Ben said shortly.

Someone knocked on the door of Jaime’s room.

“I don’t have time to argue this issue with you,” Jaime told Ben. “This will be your only warning. If you give Noah shelter, it will be the end of you.”

He hung up before Ben could answer and yelled a ’come in’ in the general direction of the door. Alejo’s head popped in, looking slightly frantic.

“What are you doing?” Jaime yelled at him, the stress getting the best of him. “You’re supposed to watch Max.”

“Mike locked him up,” Alejo stressed out and before Jaime could question that decision he continued; “He also told me to get you over to Vic’s room. They have Noah on the line.”

Jaime sprang to action and pushed Alejo out of the doorway, steering his running steps toward Vic’s room without looking back.

 

-

 

Inhale. Exhale. Repeat. Kellin felt the sweat trickle down his forehead. He tried very, very carefully not to move the slightest because God everything hurt more than enough when he was still. He might be used to this, but that didn’t mean it hurt any less. He heard telephone signals. Noah was calling someone on speakerphone. Kellin didn’t care enough to take a look at the bastard. He would fucking kill him. No he wouldn’t, but he would gladly watch Vic do it. The signals stopped and filling the crackling silence was a familiar voice.

“I swear to God, Noah, if you…”

Kellin’s eyes shot open and Noah sneered at his reaction.

“Vic!” Kellin rasped out, for a moment forgetting how to talk. His voice was still raw from screaming.

“It’s a bit too late for those kinds of threats, Victor,” Noah answered.

“Is he dead?” Vic asked straight to the point.

“Nah,” Noah replied, looking intently at Kellin. “He is glaring at me, full force. He’ll be fine.”

“He was rather fine when you took him and I hope, for your sake, you’ll return him in the same condition,” Vic stated with a hint of professionalism. It was clear this wasn’t the first time he made these kinds of threats.

“No can do,” Noah answered. “He’s a bit messy.”

“I wanna know he’s alive,” Vic demanded.

“Take my word for it.”

“Was that supposed to be a joke?” Vic hissed, sounding 100 percent unimpressed.

“Say hi to your boyfriend,” Noah said to Kellin, holding the phone in his direction.

A hundred of different things to say went through Kellin’s mind, but the only thing he managed was “Vic…”

“Kellin!” Vic exclaimed, suddenly all professionalism was gone and there was only worry. “Are you okay?”

“I’ll live,” Kellin answered, not managing to hold back a smile as he thought about what Vic’s current expression must be. Noah brought the phone away again.

“See, I told you so!” he said to Vic.

“What do you want?” Vic growled, probably straining himself from throwing the phone across the room, if Kellin guessed correctly.

“I want you here in two hours. Alone and with 50 000 dollars,” Noah announced, waiting a second while Vic processed his demands. “Or…”

“Or what?” Vic spoke up. “You’ll kill him? If you kill him, we’ll never stop looking for you, Noah. Everyone who has ever been associated with Pierce the Veil will actively be after you, gangs as well as individuals. We’ll find you eventually. There’s nowhere you can hide from us.”

“Of course, I won’t kill him,” Noah stated with irritation. “I’m not an idiot, I know I need him. I have the phone number to his dad on speed dial though and a very interesting story to tell him.”

Vic’s end went completely quiet. “What?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Soooooo... Yeah. Yeah. I'm just gonna leave that here. (please don't kill me)


	19. Chapter 19

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Shit goes down.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sooo this was fairly quick, we are getting closer and closer to the end of this first part of this series. Thanks for all the kind words about the previous chapter. It made me smile a lot. ENJOY!

The urge to throw up became strong as Noah’s self-assured smile got wider and wider. This was paying out exactly the way he wanted it to and Kellin couldn’t do a thing to stop it. To prove his point, Noah slowly read aloud every individual number in the phone number and for each one, the bruise or burn that was inflicted to get it to roll off Kellin’s tongue gave an angry stab of pain. Noah kept his eyes on Kellin the entire time, looking like he was having a fairly good time making Vic miserable.

“Isn’t that right, Kellin?” he finished, holding the phone in Kellin’s direction. Kellin managed to glare at him through his fringe, which had fallen into his eyes. He didn’t really want to say anything, it seemed like he couldn’t find the words. Noah’s eyes narrowed as a warning and the clear green nuance they most often held became clouded.

“It is,” Kellin said quietly, not wanting to piss Noah off more than necessary. Without thinking he shifted uncomfortably in the chair and immediately cried out in pain. His vision blurred momentarily and he gasped for air. Vic was yelling, but Kellin couldn’t make out the words as he focused on trying not to scream again. A wretched sob slipped out before Kellin could control himself, shutting his eyes as hard as he could to try to get a grip on himself. Vic’s, for the moment, meaningless threats cut through the silence with desperation.

“… I swear to God, Noah, I will rip your fucking eyes out. Trust me when I say every single thing done to him will be done onto you…”

“Vic…” Noah interrupted, pinching the bridge of his nose. “Just be here in two hours, okay? Things are going to get so messy otherwise and none of us want that.”

Noah quickly stated an address, but Kellin didn’t pay attention to it – he didn’t know San Diego anyhow. The tone that marked the end of the call made Kellin feel horribly alone and exposed again.

Noah put his phone in his pocket and glared at Kellin. Tears burned in the corners of Kellin’s eyes and he prayed to God they wouldn’t fall, for he didn’t want Noah to get the satisfaction of watching him cry.

“Did you have to do that?” Noah snapped angrily, striding in Kellin’s direction. Kellin flinched, closing his eyes, but found Noah merely passed by him. Before the door was slammed shut, he could hear Noah talking on the phone again: “Hey Max, I need one last favour. I need my bike…”

Kellin sank back in the chair with a groan. Two hours. Two hours then it would all be over. One way or the other.

 

-

 

Vic stood completely still, staring at the phone at least a minute before throwing it against the closest wall with a cry of rage. He pulled his hands through his hair with desperation, trying to shut out the sound of Kellin’s pained scream. Mike opened his mouth to say something, but he didn’t get the opportunity before the door busted open and Jaime ran n. He stopped dead in the middle of the room, staring at the three boys inside. Vic noted that Alejo was lingered right outside, not knowing whether he should step in or not.

“Somebody say something!” Jaime frantically exclaimed. Vic looked at him and took a deep breath. It was time to take control of this God forsaken situation and getting Kellin the hell out of there.

“He’s alive, but not well. Noah’s been hurting him to get information, I think,” Vic said, watching as Jaime’s eyes widened and his hands closed to fists. “We have to move quickly now. I have a meeting with them in two hours. Mike, search that address on Google maps or something, I want to know what the fuck I’m walking into. Tony, get those 50 000 dollars. It shouldn’t be too difficult to get hold of around here. If you leave HQ, bring Alejo, I don’t want you to go alone.”

Tony nodded, but Vic could see he wasn’t really listening to what was said.

“Tony!” Vic said sharply, immediately getting eye-contact with his friend. “That was an order. Don’t go alone. Also, Alejo, I know you’re listening, update everyone downstairs. We’ll need them on standby.”

Tony nodded once, before steering his steps toward the door and Alejo made a thumbs up.

“One more thing before you go,” Vic quickly added, making Tony pause in the doorway. “Jaime... I need you to kill Max for me.”

Tony turned around and looked quizzically at Vic, as did Mike. Jaime nodded slowly.

“Why?” Alejo wondered from outside the door. Vic looked him straight in the eyes.

“Because he took my deal about being left out of the Sykes business, if giving up his best friend. He’d never give Noah up if he wasn’t deeply involved with Sykes. I can’t run around with rats. I need loyal people in PTV, otherwise we’ll end up dead.” Vic argued in a matter-of-fact-voice and Jaime nodded again.

“I’ll do it,” he said as easy as if it had concerned giving Max a ride into town.

“Anyone have anything to say against that?” Vic wondered, putting on his most authoritarian voice, glaring at the gathered PTV members. No one said anything and Alejo just looked away when Vic gazed at him.

“Well then,” Vic said. “Get going.”

Mike, Tony and Alejo disappeared immediately, while Jaime stayed behind. He stood quiet, looking at Vic for a long time before he spoke. Vic knew better than to try to hurry him.

“Normally, I would sugar-coat this for you, but we don’t have time for that,” he said finally. “Are you sure you are up for this?”

“We don’t have the privilege of taking that into consideration,” Vic muttered, sitting down on the bed. Yes, his whole body was hurting. Yes, every time he took a breath it felt like someone stabbed him. Yes, he was tired. Did all of this matter? No, and that was the important part.

“You idiot!” Jaime groaned. “Of course we have to take it into consideration. It affects everything!”

“I’ll make it,” Vic sighed with frustration.

“Yeah, but…”

“If you had heard him cry, Jaime, you’d know why I’ll make it through this one. Trust me,” Vic pleaded. “I’ll lie down now, rest as much as I can. We’ll work from here.”

Jaime looked at him again, without saying anything. Vic had always found it infuriating, but had tried to learn to wait patiently. It was simply a Jaime-thing.

“Okay,” Jaime finally said. “Let’s plan this carefully though. What did Noah say?”

“To come alone and with 50 000 dollars.”

“Why does he want money?” Jaime thought out loud.

“Either he demands it just because he knows he can or he is going underground. Alternatively, he’s paying for protection,” Vic suggested thoughtfully.

“He’s planning something. He knows this is not the time to show off. My best guess is that the deal with Sykes’ crew is off and now he’s running. If he gave the information about our location and Oli and his men went in and got killed, then they’re probably not too happy with him either,” Jaime pointed out, following Vic’s line of thinking.

 “True. 50 000 won’t get you as far as he is going to have to run to hide from us,” Vic remarked with a sinister smile.

“Paying for protection then…” Jaime nodded. “Where will he go, though?”

“It’s impossible to say,” Vic sighed. “Did you call Danny Worsnop? Noah helped Asking Alexandria out when they started their gun business a few years back.”

“Yeah,” Jaime replied. “Ben took the call, he’s in charge now.”

“Okay,” Vic said, frowning. “I want to hear more about that later, but now you need to take care of Max.”

“Right!” Jaime exclaimed. “I’ll be right back.”

Vic nodded tiredly. Jaime left the door open as he left and when Vic couldn’t see him anymore, he allowed himself to close his eyes and relax.

 

-

 

The rain was one of the few things that always managed to lull Mike to sleep even if his thoughts refused to shut up. Usually there was something about the sound of falling rain that made him relax, whether he wanted to or not. It had been that way since he was a kid. Today, it only seemed like a bad omen as it splattered across the windshield. Sunny San Diego was always bustling with life and positivity, but today under the clouded skies, the streets were calm and depressing. Mike was gripping the wheel so hard his knuckles were whitening. The radio was turned off, so the only thing breaking the silence was the rain. He spared his older brother a glance. He was dressed in a pair of black jeans and a hoodie in the colours of the rainbow, looking out the window with a tortured expression. Mike leaned back in his seat, then carefully chose his words.

“You know,” he started. “I’m just asking because I want to know, not because I think it’s wrong.”

“What exactly are you asking?” Vic replied without moving his gaze from the deserted streets.

“Why do you care so much about him?” Mike elaborated. “You only just met him, how come you care so much about what happens to him?”

“I owe him our lives,” Vic said slowly, thinking for a moment before continuing. “I feel protective of him. I… I can’t really explain it, Mike. I see so much of myself in him, yet we are so different. He fascinates me. He came to us for protection and to seek the possibility of a new life. It’s been a while since I actually got to know someone outside PTV or one of the other crews. He makes me happy, I guess. I don’t know. I just, you need to trust me on this one, Mike.”

“I do,” Mike promised. “Otherwise I wouldn’t be here. It’s just difficult to understand.”

Mike glanced in the rear-view mirror to see Tony driving the car behind them. Jaime sat in the passenger seat, looking restless and agitated. Mike couldn’t see it, but knew that behind Tony’s car drove Alejo and the rest of PTV. Alejo had been made responsible for them. Ten minutes from the location Noah had given them, Alejo and the rest of PTV drove to the side of the road and stopped. Mike and Tony kept driving for another seven minutes before pulling over. Vic climbed out of the car immediately, rounding it before Mike had even managed to open the door. He hopped out quickly, giving Vic a hug before leaving place for him to jump in behind the wheel. Vic turned to look over his shoulder, saluting Tony and Jaime, who answered with the same gesture. With a roar from the engine, Vic pulled out on the road and drove away. Mike slowly walked over to Tony and Jaime, who watched as Vic disappeared down the road.

“Do you think this will work?” Tony asked Mike, putting a hand on his shoulder, giving it a supportive squeeze.

“I guess we’re about to find out,” Mike said, jumping into the backseat of the car, beginning the count down.

 

-

 

An old warehouse. How fucking original. Vic huffed to himself as he pulled up right outside the worn out building. He killed the engine, jumped out and got the bag with money from the backseat. He left the car unlocked, figuring no one would steal it out here anyway. For the first time in forever he wore a clock on his left wrist and now he spared it a glance to keep track of how much time had flown by. He quickly made his way toward the entrance, which was situated on the corner of the short side of the building. Every step hurt, but the pain was dulled. He didn’t know what the hell Doc had given him, but it worked, so he wasn’t one to complain. Vic stopped right inside the door, letting the it close as quietly as possible, hopefully leaving him an opportunity to take a look around. The large warehouse was mostly empty. Some cargo which had most likely been left behind by previous owners were scattered across the fairly large space. The far wall was open and right beside it stood both Alejo’s car and a motorbike belonging to Noah. Vic squinted at the car, noting that the wheels had been slashed. Alejo wouldn’t be too happy about that, and in addition, Vic realized Noah planned on leaving alone. He didn’t know if that was a good or a bad sign. Probably a bad one, because why not? On the other side of the short wall was an abandoned office, or at least that was Vic’s most educated guess. It lay in darkness. Vic’s gut told him there was where the bad things were happening so he slowly made his way over. There was no sign of anyone else in the building, which was slightly unsettling. Vic rested his hand on the doorknob for a moment, taking a deep breath and cringed as the door creaked open. The little light coming from outside the room didn’t help at all and Vic searched and found the light switch. He switched it on and inhaled sharply. He bit his tongue trying not to curse or yell out. A chair was standing in the middle of the small space and apart from a desk which had been pulled up against the far wall it was the only piece of furniture in the room. Someone was sitting in the chair and Vic had no doubt about who it was. He dropped the bag to the floor and walked closer. He was well aware that as of now he would be vulnerable. From now on, he would not be focused.

 

Vic had thought about this moment, come up with scenarios to try to make himself deal better with it once it happened, but it was all in vain. He gasped as he stood before the boy who was Kellin Quinn. His wrists were nothing but a bloody mess, having been torn open by the too tightly attached cuffs which kept his hands locked the armrests of the chair. His underarms had a few burn marks, having roughly the same size as a cigarette. Not all of them would leave a scar if Vic was correct, but enough of them. He had bruises along his chin and his lower lip was smeared with dried blood after having been split. Another bruise was blooming over his right eye.

“Holy shit,” Vic breathed out, falling to his knees before Kellin, carefully putting his hands on his knees. “Kellin?!”

Kellin’s eyes fluttered open and once they fell on Vic, they widened.

“Vic,” Kellin rasped out. “That took you a while.”

“I know, love, I know,” Vic answered, stroking Kellin’s cheek, finding it damp from past crying. “Let’s get you out of here.” Vic looked over Kellin’s shoulder, but yet no one else had shown up. Vic wondered what the heck Noah was playing at. He fished out the same equipment he had used to pick the lock of their bedroom door, the night when Kellin had almost killed him. How ironic that this time it was Kellin’s life on the line. Vic looked closer at the handcuffs and realized there was really no good way of going about doing this.

“This is going to hurt like hell,” Vic whispered, looking up at Kellin. “But you’re gonna have to be quiet, okay?”

Kellin merely nodded. Vic tried not to cringe as he looked at the bloody wounds at Kellin’s wrists. This would not be pretty. He carefully turned Kellin’s hand to the side, so he could access the lock of the cuffs. Kellin whimpered, clenching his teeth.

“I’m so sorry,” Vic breathed, starting to pick the lock, trying to cause as little moment as movement as possible.

“Stop, stop, stop,” Kellin hissed out, trying to bite back a scream.

“Just a few more seconds,” Vic said quietly, continuing to work, while Kellin tried his best to stay quiet. It didn’t quite work, but a few seconds later Vic had managed to pick the lock, and quickly remove the cuff from Kellin’s wrist.

“You’re doing an amazing job, okay? Now we only have one to go.” Vic tried to be encouraging, knowing well that he was failing.

“And there you’ve had your fun,” someone cut into the conversation before Kellin had a chance to answer or Vic had time to start picking the next lock. Vic glanced over Kellin’s shoulder, seeing Noah standing in the doorway with a gun in his hand, having a clear aim at Vic’s chest.

“Back away from him,” Noah commanded, and Vic rose up, taking a few steps back while letting the tools he needed for picking the lock scramble to the floor. “How are you even out of bed?”

“Maybe I’m not as weak as you thought I was,” Vic replied indifferently. He glanced at Kellin who stared back at him with fear in his eyes. “I’m here. Let Kellin go.”

“Wouldn’t that be cute,” Noah said sarcastically, pointing the gun at the bag on the floor for a moment before aiming back at Vic. “Open it.”

Vic walked over, slowly bent down to open it, showing Noah the money. Noah nodded in appreciation.

“Good job,” he said, managing a smile. Vic looked at the watch on his wrist, not realizing Noah picked up on his distraction.

“You’ve got anywhere better to be?” Noah snapped.

Vic calmly looked up at Noah and stated; “No, what can be better than spending some quality time with you? What about you though? I saw your bike outside. Where are you going?”

“I’m not stupid and I’m in a hurry,” Noah countered. He gripped the back off the chair Kellin was sitting in and dragged it closer to him.

“You ruined the plans I had for my future, Vic,” he said, smiling coldly. “Why shouldn’t I ruin yours?”

He put the gun to the back of Kellin’s head and Vic watched as Kellin froze in fear.

“We can talk about this Noah,” Vic said, trying to sound calm, but not sure if he managed it.

“Talking won’t give me my life back,” Noah replied, pressing the gun harder against Kellin’s head. He moved to the left, pressing the gun to Kellin’s temple instead. Vic’s heartbeat picked up speed, he could hear his pulse in his ears.

“Then kill me,” he offered, his voice loud and almost breaking. “As you said I was the one who ruined everything for you.”

“But where’s the fun in that?”

Vic quickly glanced at his watch again, 8 minutes had passed since he walked into the building. Fuck. He felt Kellin’s eyes on him and knew he had to do something. What would consume Noah’s attention to the point where it was possible to stall this whole situation for just a few minutes?

“I thought you were going to have asked about Max by now,” Vic spat out, barely having time constructing the sentence before it was out into the air. Noah stared at him.

“What about him? You cut him a deal,” he replied and Vic frowned, wondering how the hell Noah could know.

“They were talking earlier,” Kellin informed quietly.

“Shut up!” Noah yelled and Kellin flinched. Vic took a deep breath, trying to suppress his sudden urge to charge at Noah no matter the cost. How wonderful it would be to get to spill his blood.

“You’ll be fine, Kellin. It’ll be over s…”

“What did you do to him?” Noah asked loudly, his grip on the gun hardening. Vic tore his eyes from Kellin to glance at the wrist-watch again.

“Jaime killed him,” he deadpanned. Noah leaped forward with a growl and as Vic looked into his eyes, he was sure he was going to get a bullet between his eyes. When standing in front of Kellin, Noah turned around and aimed at him. Vic didn’t realize what was happening until it was too late. He jumped forward in an attempt to throw himself at Noah, but he was just out of reach. Noah fired twice and Kellin screamed as one of the bullets tore through his skin and flesh, one entering right above his heart, the other hitting the chair to the right of Kellin’s head. Vic landed on his knees, gliding across the floor of the office, coming to a halt right at Kellin’s feet. Noah grabbed the bag of money and ran out the door, well aware he was forgotten in Vic’s mind. Vic picked up his tools from the floor and even though his vision was blurry with tears he got to work immediately. Kellin cried with pain again and again, tears were rolling down his cheeks. _Focus, Vic, focus!_ Vic urged himself.

“You’ll be okay,” Vic said, looking up at him, blinking his own tears away and trying to push his emotions aside in favour of effectively solving the situation. It wasn’t for nothing he had been made president. “You’ve been so brave, okay? You’re going to be fine, Kellin. Are you listening to me?”

Within a few seconds, Vic had picked the lock of the other handcuff and quickly got Kellin out of the chair and onto the floor. At the same time, he heard the door of the warehouse being kicked open. The sound of heavy footsteps echoed through the house and Mike was yelling orders.

“MIKE!” Vic shouted at the top of his lungs and immediately the footsteps were coming in their direction. Suddenly Jaime was on his knees next to him, also pressing his hands onto the bullet wound, which was oozing blood. Glancing over his shoulder, Vic saw Mike and Tony disappearing outside again, probably to chase after Noah. Gunfire ripped through the silence. Kellin was trying to look at Vic, but his eyes were falling shut against his will.

“Stay with me, Kellin,” Vic exclaimed, once again trying to sound calm and brave, but feeling broken and panicked. “It’s over now. It’s all going to work out. He didn’t call your dad, you know, and you can leave whenever you want, you don’t have to stay with me anymore.”

Kellin’s eyes opened again and he grabbed hold of Vic’s wrist, holding on a lot harder than Vic thought was possible in his condition.

“I am… not… going anywhere,” he whispered, struggling to be able to speak. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So. This time it'll take some time before I update. I'm done with uni at June 8th so after that I'll have a lot of time to write, yaaaaay! :D


	20. Chapter 20

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Adventures at the ER and some affection.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh my god. I'm sorry this took so long. This is a long chapter though, so maybe that makes up for it. Please ntoe I ahve some important questions in the notes at the end of the chapter. Now:  
> ENJOY! xx

Vic looked with envy as a girlfriend guided her limping boyfriend toward the exit of the ER. They walked with hurried steps and Vic could understand them. He was hunched by the coffee machine, downing the last of the contents of his coffee cup before refilling it yet again. Imploringly, he gazed around the waiting area he had been shown to after the paramedics took Kellin away from him. Vic had tried to argue his way behind the closed doors to the actual ER, but when the nurses had threatened to call security he had realized he had lost and retreated back to the crowded hall he was currently situated in. People of all ages, backgrounds and degrees of sickness were gathered, making out a colorful but slightly pained mess. Vic couldn’t sit still, so he kept circling the room, eventually ending up at his starting point – the coffee machine. In the beginning people had stared curiously at him, but now they were ignoring him, since they had grown used to his relentless pacing. Anticipation as well as irritation hung heavy in the air, creating a pressured atmosphere that slowly drove Vic crazy. He fished out Mike’s phone (since he had broken his own earlier) from the pocket of his jeans. After pressing 1 and dial, the signals started to go through.

“What?” his brother answered, nervously and hesitant, afraid of what the answer would be.

“I need you here,” Vic said quickly and quietly.

“Jaime and Alejo are on their way and,” Mike started but Vic interrupted him.

“That’s not enough!” he hissed loudly, earning a few glances from the fellow waiting patients.

“You are being paranoid,” Mike told him with a sigh.

“I know, that’s exactly why I need you here,” Vic almost whined, pausing before; “Mike… Please.”

The other end of the line went quiet for a long time before Mike’s strained voice put an end to the conversation.

“I’ll be there in twenty minutes.”

Vic had all the right reasons to be paranoid. It was only him and Kellin at the hospital, not very much protection, and he wasn’t even allowed to be near Kellin. Anyone could be sneaking around behind the doors of the ER, waiting to catch of glimpse of Kellin and kill him. That thought alone almost drove Vic from his place by the coffee machine and through those doors if so by force. He closed his fist and gripped his coffee cup harder with the other one. He sat down on the edge of the line of uncomfortable plastic chairs and buried his face in his hands. Good god, he hoped Kellin would be okay. There had been so much blood. Vic had been forced to go alone with the ambulance, the rest of them working frenetically to catch Noah despite his head start. Kellin had lost consciousness as soon as the paramedic arrived. Vic felt his eyes watering and quickly averted his thoughts. He could not be breaking down like this on his own. Right now, he was Kellin’s only form of protection, he needed to be sharp minded. The phone started vibrating in his hand and to his surprise Whitney Houston’s ‘I wanna dance with somebody’ started blasting through the waiting area. The screen lit up with ‘JAIME’. Vic glared at an old lady who started sniggering behind her magazine before answering the call.

“Jaime, why the fuck does Mike have ‘I wanna dance with somebody’ as your ringtone?” Vic asked, feeling the disapproving looks from various sets of parents around the room. He tried smiling apologetic to some of them, not always getting a smile back.

“You remember that time in El Paso when Mike and I danced in that bar?” Jaime answered without missing a beat.

“Yeah?” Vic said, not able to hold back a smile at the memory.

“Since then he has insisted on having it as my ringtone,” Jaime explained with fondness. “Where are you? I’m at the hospital now.”

“ER waiting area, they refused to let me follow them any further. Hurry up,” Vic mumbled, again ending the call without giving Jaime a chance to answer. He put the phone in his pocket. He tried to hold on to the memory of dancing in El Paso. Tony had been flat out refusing and they had all picked on him for it. Vic was doing well with the distraction until the doors opened and a doctor came out, scanning the crowd with sad eyes. Vic stopped breathing until the doctor’s eyes landed on a young woman sitting next to him and called out her name. As she got up, Vic exhaled and leaned his elbows on his knees, once again burying his face in his hands. Tears welled up in his eyes and this time he couldn’t stop them from finding their way down his cheeks. Shit, shit, shit. He pulled his hands through his hair, still looking at the floor. A little pair of feet wearing brightly pink sneakers walked into his view. With a frown, Vic slowly looked up to see a little African American girl looking back at him. She was approximately four or five years old, her long hair in two braids and a bright smile tugging at the corners of her lips. She looked at Vic with serious eyes. Vic felt like he shrunk under her gaze, slightly unsure what to do. He quickly glanced around the room, finding more than a few people were watching him, but no one seemed to be the parent of the kid. Oh great.

“You are sad,” the girl said. It wasn’t a question, it was a state of fact. Suddenly it felt like the whole waiting area was quiet and awaiting his response. Vic looked back at the girl. She looked at him with such reassurance and kindness it was clear she didn’t know who he was, but he knew there was a possibility that other people in the room knew. He nodded to the girl.

“Yeah, I’m sad,” he replied quietly. “Where is your mom and dad?”

“Why are you sad?” she asked, leaning on his knee while jumping around where she stood.

“My… uh… friend is in there with the doctors and he is very sick,” Vic told her gently, censuring his answers. “They don’t know if he’ll survive.”

“Oh…” the girl answered, then stayed quiet for a while, just looking at him. “Do you miss him?”

“Yes,” Vic whispered, hopelessly trying to fight the tears.

“What’s your name?” the girl asked.

“Victor,” Vic replied automatically. “What’s yours?”

“Imani,” the girl said with a little smile. “My mom says it means ‘faith’.”

“That’s pretty,” Vic answered, drying his tears with his thumb.

“What does your name mean?” the girl wondered with bright eyes.

“It means ‘conqueror’,” Vic said and for a moment reflected on the irony of it all. Conqueror. This was probably not what his mother had imagined. The girl nodded carefully before walking away to a seat at the other side of the room. The atmosphere in the room lightened a bit and Vic felt the pressure on him lessen. He glanced at the person sitting a few chairs to his right, an old man with grey hair and thick glasses. The man smiled at him and Vic smiled back. He didn’t noticed Imani standing in front of him again until she poked at his knee. She held a small replica of the unicorn in Despicable Me in her hands, hugging it closely before reaching it over to Vic who held onto it.

“I got it from my dad,” Imani said. “He was also sick and now I can’t see him anymore cause he’s in heaven. Before he went to heaven he said I should hug this when I miss him and he’ll feel all the way to heaven…”

Imani paused for a moment and Vic felt the urge to pull her into an embrace, he looked down at the unicorn again.

“Maybe it works for your friend too. Hug him!” the little girl said and looked urgently at Vic and the unicorn. Vic’s eyes watered again. He glanced at the old man a few chairs over again and when their eyes met he saw the old man was just as close to tears as he was. Vic swallowed thickly before carefully embracing the unicorn. Imani nodded encouragingly before making grabby hands. Vic handed the unicorn back to her and she hugged it too. When looking up, Vic noted Jaime was standing in the doorway to the waiting area, looking at Vic with tears in his eyes and a fond smile dancing on his lips. Vic was about to say something, but the door to the rest room opened and out stepped an African American woman in her twenties. Her eyes fell on Vic and Imani the second she walked out through the door and her eyes widened. She froze in the doorway, staring at Vic and Imani and it seemed like the whole waiting area got silent again. Jaime tensed up, Vic noted in the corner of his eyes, but his focus stayed on the woman. A number of emotions flashed in her eyes before they settled on fear and Vic immediately knew she knew who he was. The fear in people’s eyes, the nervousness in their movements as soon as he got closer, the tenseness in their shoulders. He was familiar with the concept. The woman rushed forward and by now everyone was staring.

“I’m so sorry,” she said, looking frantically at Vic. “I’m sorry if she bothered you. I just… I’m sorry.”

She lifted Imani from the floor and the young girl whined unhappily.

“It’s okay,” Vic said, getting up from his seat, holding his hands out. “It’s fine, she…”

The woman wasn’t listening. She stepped backwards with Imani sitting on her hip.

“I’m sorry,” she kept chanting. “Please, I’m sorry.”

Vic sat down, staring at Imani and her mother as they turned their backs to him and walked over to the spot on the other side of the room to which Imani had run earlier. Imani looked over her mother’s shoulder and waved sadly at Vic, who waved back. Only once had he felt this bad about being who he was and that memory made him shudder. He jumped out of his seat and ran past Jaime, exiting the ER. Outside the daylight had disappeared and the gloomy rainclouds were still towering above San Diego. The cold air was refreshing, but also bit his tear stained cheeks mercilessly. He heard running steps behind him and suddenly Jaime wrapped his arms around him. Vic leaned into him, letting out everything he had held in for the past couple of hours.

“God, sometimes I just want to be someone else,” Vic sighed when he had stopped crying. Jaime let him escape the embrace and Vic steered his steps toward the entrance again. Jaime didn’t comment on Vic’s words, but Vic knew he would probably bring it up later. Just as they entered the waiting area, a doctor appeared at the other end of the hall. As soon as he saw Vic, he approached him and Jaime.

“You’re here about Mr. Quinn, correct?” he wondered, offering his hand.

Vic took it. “Yes, sir.”

“I’m sorry, we’ve kept you waiting, we wanted to make sure he was stable before giving you any kind of hope,” the doctor smiled warmly. “You can see Mr. Quinn now, if you want to. He’s awake.”

“Absolutely, lead the way,” Vic said, falling into the doctor’s pace through the corridors and rooms.

“The bullet managed to miss all of his organs and above all the heart and the aorta. He’s extremely lucky,” the doctor explained. “I have never seen anything like it. A centimeter in any other direction and he would have been dead.”

“He never was the lucky kind,” Vic said. “Maybe that was to make up for all this luck.”

“Maybe he’s meant to be here,” Jaime offered, putting a hand on Vic’s shoulder. Vic just nodded, trying to swallow the lump in his throat.

 

-

 

It was too unfamiliar to see Kellin in this environment. The walls were too white and blinding. Kellin looked too small, hooked up to all those machines and tucked in under the blankets. The cigarette burns on his arms had been covered in gauze and there was also gauze across his chest, covering the bullet wound above his heart. His bruised face looked not so severe when it had been cleaned off and taken care of. Vic found himself sighing with relief. The situation felt contained and safe within these four walls, even though it was uncomfortable. Vic wanted to scoop Kellin up in his arms and carry him all the way home. It took a while before Kellin’s eyes fluttered open and some more time before they settled on Vic and Jaime.

“He’s on some very strong morphine and he’s going to be very tired, probably struggling to stay awake,” the doctor informed and moved to exit the room again. “Find me or one of the nurses if you need anything.”

“Doctor,” Vic exclaimed, making the man stop in the doorway and turn around. “This may come off as a bit odd, but could we have a copy of his medical record?”

The doctor narrowed his eyes. “No, sir, that’s highly classi…”

“Sorry, let me clarify,” Vic stressed. “I don’t want all of it, absolutely not. I just want to know what kind of injuries he had when he arrived here today. I supposed you have them all on record, right?”

“Yes, but…” the doctor tried, but Vic cut him off once again.

“Good, good. I just want a list of them. Please?” Vic said.

“Why?” the doctor asked, looking straight into Vic’s eyes without even blinking.

“It’s very important to me,” Vic answered decisively.

“I’ll see what I can do…” the doctor said, shaking his head in confusion. With those words, he left the room and closed the door behind him. Vic hurried to Kellin’s side and took his hand, giving it a gentle kiss.

“Hi, babe,” he said, almost choking on sudden tears.

“Hi…” Kellin rasped out, smiling a little.

“I’m so sorry for all this,” Vic mumbled, kissing Kellin’s forehead.

Kellin, fairly high on morphine, put a shaky hand on Vic’s cheek. “Shut up.”

Vic snorted loudly and he heard Jaime chuckled by the end of the bed.

“They tell me I’m going to recover,” Kellin said quietly.

“Of course you are,” Vic huffed jokingly. “I didn’t doubt it for a second.”

“Vic, about all of this…” Kellin choked out, breathing heavily, suggesting talking was a very big effort.

Vic hushed him gently. “We’ll talk about that later, love. Not now. Just rest.”

Vic pulled a chair up to the bed and sat down, stroking Kellin’s hair carefully. Kellin leaned into his touch, making a sound very close to purring. Vic didn’t think he’d ever felt as content.

 

-

 

Ben Bruce massaged his temples in a desperate try to clear his mind and lure his headache away. He was tired. The past month could be described as anything less than hell. All Ben wanted to do now was to get enough peace and quiet to settle in his leader role, get a few girls over to cure his loneliness and perhaps go out and raise a little hell on his own streets. The last thing he needed was an animate threat of elimination hanging over his head. He didn’t need that kind of trouble. Danny had left a lot of loose ends and it was equally painful to tie up every single one of them. For every finished chapter, the truth sank in further. Danny had left him behind. Ben had given him everything, all of himself and his whole life, and Danny had left him behind like nothing. Ben turned to his guest and sighed.

“How long are we talking?” he asked, sipping from his glass of whiskey.

“Maybe a month or so until they lose interest,” was the answer.

“Until they lose interest,” Ben echoed, then snorting loudly. “You’re a funny one.”

His guest shrugged, showing no particular devotion. Ben glanced at the bag full of money laying on the table in front of him. That money would solve a lot of his troubles, but he had to play this smart. Ben sighed once again.

“You’re welcome to stay,” he decided. “Low profile, okay? We’ll see if we can move you somewhere else, every mile between you and them will count. You’ve been nothing but good to us, I don’t see any reason for us not to return the favour.”

He looked over at his right hand man, James. “Please, follow him to his room, then return”

James nodded once and opened the door for their guest to walk out first.

“Hey, you’re friends with Cameron right? I’ll send him over.”

“Thank you,” the guest replied with a winning smile.

As soon as the door shut behind the two men, Ben took out his phone, pressing down a phone number. He only hesitated a second before hitting dial.

 

-

 

Vic tore his eyes from Kellin’s when Mike tumbled into the room. His eyes were shining in a way which could only suggest one thing and Vic felt hope growing in the pit of his stomach.

“They found him,” Mike announced. “They fucking found Noah. Ben Bruce just called, willing to turn him in. He’s being held at Ben’s property in L.A. right now, thinking he’s being kept under protection.”

The fire that had been burning in the back of Vic’s mind, the fire that had been resting in his limbs now flickered to life again.

“Call the Brides, ask them to pick Noah up and get him down here now. Jaime, please go check if the doctor is done with that list,” Vic ordered and Jaime and Mike got to work immediately. When Vic looked back down on Kellin, doubt was oozing from the younger boy.

“What is it?” Vic wondered, caressing the back of Kellin’s hand with his thumb.

“I don’t want to know anything about what you have planned for him,” Kellin said, for a second looking a lot more sober than when Vic and Jaime had entered. Maybe it was the seriousness of the situation, or the morphine was fading.

“Okay,” Vic nodded. “No problem.”

“I know you can’t let him get away. I don’t want him to get away,” Kellin mumbled. “It’s just…”

“I know,” Vic hushed him, deciding the morphine certainly wasn’t fading. “This is not your responsibility, you should be left out of it. I get it.”

“Just go do what you have to do,” Kellin said, struggling to keep his eyes open. “Then come back to me.”

“I will,” Vic answered, squeezing Kellin’s hand.

“Please, always come back to me,” Kellin breathed, eyes closed, almost asleep now.

“Always,” Vic promised, leaving Kellin alone with a kiss on the forehead.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So... Yeah. Sorry or something I don't know if this wasn't was good as the last chapter. I kind of wanted to make it longer, but this is what it turned out to be.   
> I was so unsure about whether to bring in Imani or not, but I think she'll make an appearance in the next chapter too. Did you like it or was it just confusing that I brought her into this?  
> Love you all, thank you so much for your support. Without you this story would never have been continued or written and I'm so glad that it is, cause it's giving me joy and I hope it gives that to you too.


	21. Chapter 21

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Three Cheers For Sweet Revenge.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> HELL YEAH PEOPLE, HERE'S A CHAPTER. I have important shit to say, so read the notes below, thank you.  
> ENJOY!!!!

Kellin managed to fall sleep again right about the time Vic, Mike and Jaime had to leave. They exited the room together, walking in a line. Mike went first, closely followed by Vic who walked right in front of Jaime. They were all aware that by this time it would be general knowledge that Vic had been spotted at the hospital, which made their situation very unpredictable. They hurried down the bleak hallways, all of them looking forward to get some fresh air. As the small group entered the waiting area, Vic noted that everyone except Imani and her mother had left. Upon this sight he grabbed a handful of Mike’s hoodie, pulling his brother to a sudden halt, causing Jaime to crash into Vic’s back. Imani was playing across the room from her mother who was focusing all her attention at a magazine in her hands. Vic only hesitated for a second.

“Jaime, why don’t you go play with Imani for a little while?” he suggested over his shoulder. Jaime patted his back in an agreeing manner and started crossing the room, while Vic steered his steps in the direction of Imani’s mother. She didn’t notice him until he was standing right in front of her. Her scared eyes immediately located Imani, in addition to Jaime sitting right next to her on the floor, having an enthusiastic conversation with the unicorn she had offered Vic to hug earlier. Imani’s mother stood up so quickly the chair almost fell over, making a move to get around Vic to Imani. Vic stepped in her way, holding his hands up.

“Sit down,” he demanded. “It’ll be fine.”

The woman didn’t trust him, Vic didn’t blame her. Her gaze flickered between Vic and Imani, as if trying to sum up her chances, calculating the risks. At precisely the moment Vic thought she was going to make a run for it, Imani broke into an adorable giggle, covering her mouth with her hands, looking at Jaime with so much mischief in her eyes it was ridiculous. Imani’s mother visibly relaxed and Vic let out a breath he didn’t know he had been holding.

“Please, sit down,” Vic said, motioning to the chair she had sat in earlier. She sat down and Vic took place right next to her. They sat in silence for half a minute, watching Jaime and Imani play. Vic tried to ignore his brother’s confused gaze. Vic wanted to explain, but didn’t bother. Mike wouldn’t understand anyway.

“You’ve got a lovely daughter,” Vic said thoughtfully.

“I know,” the woman answered, sounding proud and somewhat defiant.

“I never properly introduced myself,” Vic said, holding out his hand.

“You don’t need to,” the woman answered before Vic had a chance to say his name.

“I want to,” Vic pushed. “I’m Victor Fuentes, but you can call me Vic, like everyone else does.”

“Brianna,” the woman introduced herself and shook his hand.

“No last name?” Vic asked flatly.

“Not that you need to know,” Brianna answered, glancing briefly at him, not really looking.

“I’m not who you think I am,” Vic said quietly, not sure if it was an apology or an act of defense. Something about the way he said it had caught Brianna’s attention though, because for the first time since they had met, she looked at him. She held his gaze for a long time, before her eyes wandered to take in his clothing, his hair and the rest of his body.

“Maybe,” she said, but Vic still felt like he had won. He had a tendency to feel invisible. There was good invisible, like walking in foreign cities, or blending in among a crowd, but there was also bad invisible, like people constantly keeping you in the corner of their eye, scared to look at you for real.

“What are you doing here?” Vic wondered, leaning back in his chair, crossing his ankle over his knee.

Brianna laughed bitterly. “To be honest, I don’t know. I can’t pay these bills anyway.”

“I’ll pay them.” Vic heard the words only after they came out of his mouth, yet he didn’t regret them. Brianna looked at him like he was crazy and her eyes got tinged with skepticism.

“I didn’t mean it like that,” she bit back at him.

“I know you didn’t,” he argued, shrugging. “I want to help.”

She narrowed her eyes at him, stabbing a finger in his direction. “I don’t owe people favours, Victor. I’m too poor to not accept your offer, but don’t for a second believe I’ll be in debt to you.”

“Got it,” Vic nodded enthusiastically. “No problem.”

Brianna nodded thoughtfully, falling into silence, watching her daughter. Mike cleared his throat without any kind of discretion and Vic got out of his seat.

“I’ll tell the nurses. If they send you the bill anyway, just forward it to me,” he explained. “I’ll fix it.”

“Thanks, I suppose,” Brianna answered, nodding to him.

“It’s nothing,” Vic shrugged, moving toward Jaime and Imani.

“Victor!” Imani squealed happily, hugging him as he squatted down before her.

“Hi,” he smiled, hugging her back, looking at Jaime over her small shoulder. “Go tell the nurses to send the bills to me. Mike and I’ll go ahead.”

“Sure,” Jaime smiled, digging into his pocket, pulling out a crumbled sheet of paper. “Take this though, in case you get started without me.”

Vic looked at the paper as Jaime shoved it into his hand, realizing immediately what it was. He inhaled sharply, somehow feeling stained, feeling as if no matter how much he tried to prove himself to be a good guy, this was what it was going to come down to every time.

“How’s your friend?” Imani asked, glancing at the unicorn replica.

“He’s going to be okay,” Vic answered with a careful smile. “I guess he felt our hugs, right?”

“Yeah,” Imani beamed. “Just like my dad.”

“Just like your dad,” Vic confirmed, stroking her cheek with his thumb. “I have to leave now, but Imani… If you ever find yourself in trouble, maybe years and years from now, then come find me: Victor Fuentes. Remember that.”

“I don’t have any troubles,” Imani said happily and Vic thought his heart just about broke. He hoped she never would have any either.

“Be good to your mom, okay?” Vic whispered, leaning forward to kiss the top of her head. Imani looked at him and nodded sternly. Vic turned around, the white paper burning into his palm. He said nothing as he passed his brother, leading the way out of the ER. What he had done and would do for Brianna and her daughter could never make up for who he was, but maybe it could make up for what he was about to do.

 

-

 

“He’s all set up in there.”

Vic nodded, extending his hand to the tall, muscular black haired guy in front of him. The guy was smoking, trying to look cool and casual. His hair was held in place by a generous amount of hairspray and eyeliner was bringing focus to his pretty eyes. Vic knew the type and he wasn’t a fan.

“Thank you,” Vic said calmly to Ashley, for that was his name. He was Andy Biersack's right hand man. “Make sure my gratefulness reaches Andy. I know it wasn’t easy for you, being close to Asking Alexandria and all.”

Ashley looked at Vic’s hand, but didn’t take it. His eyes were disapproving when they once again settled on Vic. “It wasn’t. I can’t say I liked it, but Andy’s the boss. His word goes, it just pisses me off that he takes orders from you.”

“Oh, please, let us all know what you think,” Mike piped up with irritation, walking closer, suddenly right behind Vic.

“Ash…” the boy standing behind Ashley tried, but Ashley just went on.

“You have been in charge too long, Vic. You don’t see the opportunities anymore, you’re too scared to take risks,” he said, stomping on the cigarette butt he threw on the ground.

Vic looked at his brother and raised an eyebrow. A knowing smile danced over Mike’s lips as he saw his older brother’s intentions.

“Pick it up.”

“What?” Ashley exclaimed.

Vic turned to him, stone cold expression. “The cigarette. Pick it up again.”

“Why?” Ashley scowled, closing his hands to fists and Vic prayed Mike would be able to keep still and not ruin the moment.

“I have a strict policy about not littering. I like to think about the environment,” Vic explained, ever word stained in belittlement. By now people had gathered around them, curiously watching Vic take on the punk from LA.

“No, you don’t,” Ashley huffed, raising his eyebrows in defiance.

“Yes, I do. Specifically for you,” Vic stated as a matter-of-fact. “Pick it up, or you’ll have to dig through the dirt trying to try to find your teeth.”

Ashley’s confident smile faltered as Vic stared him down. Eventually he caved, picked the stump up, throwing it into the open car window. Vic lunged at Ashley with alarming speed and Ashley didn’t have time to slip away before Vic had grabbed the collar of his black, tight shirt and pushed him violently against the car he had been leaning against, almost sending him over the hood of it.

“Now you listen to me very carefully. I have been in charge of this place long enough to see when a risk is a chance and when a chance is merely gambling with my brothers’ lives,” Vic hissed, only a few inches away from Ashley’s face. “You might think you know something about running a business like this, but obviously you don’t. Let me be clear about the fact that I have both the Brides and Alexandria in the palm of my hand for a reason. Andy is a smart guy, maybe you should focus a bit more on watching and learning from him instead of second guessing the decisions he makes to keep your punk ass alive.”

Vic let him go with a push, leaving him lying on his back over the hood of the car. He turned to Ashley’s friend, another of Andy’s guys.

“Who are you again?” he asked, crossing his arms.

“CC,” he answered, looking past Vic and narrowing his eyes at Mike, who looked ready to bash a head in.

Vic stared. “CC, if there wasn’t anything else, you can leave now and take that naïve son of a bitch with you.”

“Andy wondered what to do with the money.”

“What money?” Vic asked, scowling at CC who kept stealing glances at both Mike and Ashley, who had stood up, correcting his shirt.

“The money Noah paid Ben,” CC clarified.

“Give it to Ben,” Vic said and as both Ash and CC opened their mouths to protest, Vic held up a hand to silence them. “Tell Andy he lost the money because Mr. Hairspray here doesn’t know his place.”

CC nodded, pulling lightly on Ashley’s arm before getting into the passenger seat. Ashley walked slowly around the car, taking his time just to let the guys know he hadn’t been shaken by Vic’s threats.

The two man team headed out with screeching tires and just as they turned out of sight, Ashley stuck out his arm through the window, middle finger high in the air.

“Well… he has guts,” Mike offered half-heartedly, watching as Jaime drove into sight, pulling up beside the group of curious watchers.

“Yeah,” Vic said, spitting over his shoulder. “Too much self-confidence though.”

“Guess Andy’s gonna call about that money,”

“I don’t care, we’re giving it to Ben anyway,”

Jaime exited his car, walking toward in a fast pace. Vic took a deep breath, turning around to look at the abandoned factory behind them.

“Let’s do this,” he said, feeling Mike putting a hand on his shoulder.

 

-

 

Tony was sitting inside the factory, keeping an eye on Noah, even though he was securely tied to an armchair, his mouth covered by duct tape. There was no room for mistake here. Mike entered the room behind Vic and was closely followed by Jaime. Alejo and another member stood guard outside and another guy sat in a parked car, a few minutes down the road. Everything was just enough security details to give Vic a head start on the cops if he needed to. Mike watched as his brother circled the room in silence, looking at Noah like a vulture about to strike on a dying animal. Mike guessed in some senses it was true. The factory was cold, despite the heat outside. And Mike could feel shivers down his spine. There were few windows in the concrete building, and the few existing ones sat high on the walls, almost right below the ceiling. Shadows creeped down the walls, stretching out over the floor, as if trying to grasp their prisoner. Despite the cold air, the place smelt stuffy. Tony sat on the floor, leaning his back against the wall, watching Vic as he closed in on his target, while Jaime stood next to Mike. Mike lit a cigarette. Vic finally stopped pacing and stood in front of Noah with a powerful stance. Noah stared back at him like a deer caught in the headlights of a car. A very grumpy deer, to be fair though.

“I told you I’d find you,” Vic said calmly. Noah grunted aggressively. Vic slowly pulled out a crumpled sheet of paper from his pocket, trying to smooth it out. Mike leaned closer to Jaime.

“Is that the paper you gave him at the ER?”

“Yeah,” Jaime whispered.

“What is it?”

“A list of Kellin’s injuries,” Jaime answered earnestly and Mike tried to keep the shock from showing on his face. This was going to get messy fast.

“You know what this is?” Vic asked Noah, holding the paper to him. Noah shook his head.

“Take a closer look,” Vic said smoothly, walking closer so Noah could read. Noah squinted at the small, but tidy letters and his eyes went wide, flickering between Vic and the paper.

“Remember what I promised you?” Vic went on, shaking the paper. “It’s all right here.”

Noah gave a painful whine and Vic smiled wickedly, making Mike’s stomach turn. His older brother could be cruel if he wanted to, as a young teen he had been pretty much limitless. Mike had seen that smile a lot as a kid and his reactions were more like instincts by now. He used to hate it so much back then. Mike tried not to, but it was impossible to not get swept away and remember. The constant shoves into lockers, the bruises over his ribs, the insults throw at him like grenades in the hallways. The constant feeling of loneliness in a place full of people, like school had been, was the worst feeling Mike thought he would ever have to feel. Eventually Vic found out and started jumping the bullies, either on their way home from school, or out in broad daylight in the schoolyard. That wicked smile of his would always dance over his lips, his otherwise so calm eyes seemed to be on fire. The bullying stopped, no more punches at recess or insults in the corridor. Despite this, it got worse. People stayed even further away from him than before, no one even dared touching him. People kept their distance, out of fear. Mike had been completely isolated, until one day when he had pinned Vic to a locker himself and made it extremely clear that Vic needed to stay the hell away from him. Vic had stormed off and hadn’t come home for days. Later, Mike had found out he had lived with Noah, staying drunk all the time until Jaime found him and brought him home to his place. After making up all their issues concerning that, the brothers had been inseparable. Mike took another look at Noah’s worried expression. He could never have imagined it would end like this and judging from Noah’s face, neither had he.

“Are you done with that cigarette, Mike?” Vic asked. Mike inhaled one last time, exhaling the smoke as he handed it over to Vic. Noah groaned.

 

-

 

Vic had almost forgot how powerful and in control he felt beating the life out of someone. The anger was all built up inside him, they just needed to let him loose and it would all come out. This was who he was at the core – completely insane. An outsider might have described it as a werewolf-like behavior, but the feeling of this was nothing like in the cheesy romance movies depicting the creature. Vic had never understood how having blood on your hands could give so much relief and so much endorphins, but it did. Noah’s screams echoed in Vic’s ears and for him it was like playing your favourite song on repeat. Vic was so high off adrenaline he could barely contain himself enough to follow his carefully planned routine. He looked at Noah, sweaty and yet shivering in the chair, bleeding and hurting and then glanced at the list. He pressed another cigarette into Noah’s forearm, but Noah barely reacted anymore. He had stopped screaming a long time ago, now he just looked up to the ceiling, whining pitifully. Vic was almost done. He grabbed Noah’s hair forcefully, pulling his head backwards and looked at him.

“Remember that I promised I’d do everything to you? Everything you did to Kellin?” Vic spoke slowly, smiling a little. “I’m just going to make one small change.”

He walked around to stand in front of Noah, before pulling out a gun from his waistband. Noah groaned, but Vic couldn’t make out any words, it didn’t matter anyway. Vic aimed and fired, Noah jumped with shock and suddenly his eyes were wide open, focusing on Vic with new found energy. The bullet from the gun had buried itself just above his left shoulder. Vic walked closer, pressing the gun to a spot right above Noah’s heart.

“You missed his heart and his aorta. You missed every important part of his body,” Vic spat. “You didn’t finish the job you set out to do. I am going to finish mine.”

Vic lowered the gun two centimeters and fired point blank into Noah’s heart, without giving him a chance to say anything at all. Noah screamed out again, this time more with desperation than pain. Vic looked down at him and saw the fright and terror in his eyes. Noah’s shivers worsened and his breathing picked up speed, before slowing down as blood poured out of his body. Vic turned away as the life left Noah’s body, that was the only part of this process he had never ever enjoyed – watching the life leave another human being, and once it was all done and the factory turned quiet again, he turned to Mike, who stood leaning against the wall.

“Did anyone bring Max’s body?”

Mike nodded.

“Bury them out back,” Vic ordered, letting the sheet of now crumpled and bloodstained paper in his hand fall to the floor before exiting the factory in the hopes of never having to return.

 

-

 

Kellin awoke as the bed started moving. He opened one eye to see Vic climbing in between the sheets, fully clothed. It took him a while to remember their earlier conversation.

“Hi,” he said quietly and Vic looked at him.

“Hey,” he said, looking slightly unsure. Kellin carefully moved to lean against him and Vic put his arm around Kellin’s small frame in a protective manner, kissing his forehead.

“Is it done?” Kellin wondered, closing his eyes, intending to fall asleep again.

“Yeah,” Vic breathed barely audible.

Kellin just nodded, snuggling against Vic’s chest, breathing in his scent, which was mixed with the smell of cheap soap. He exhaled happily, feeling safe.  

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WOHO! Soooooo. The storyline with Noah is over, if you hadn't noticed, I am considering if I should continue the story anyhow, in a new part in a series, or if I should write an epilogue and then leave it be. We'll see. I'l let you know ASAP.  
> Anyhow; Feedback is greatly appreciated and if you have opinions on whether I should try to continue the story or not, shoot!  
> I LOVE YOU ALL SO MUCH OK? You rock. I am so thankful.


	22. The Epilogue

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The end of what has been and the beginning of something new.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I AM SORRY THIS TOOK SO LONG BUT I HAVE BEEN STRUGGLING. Seriously, I have no idea why, but it was soooo difficult writing this? I'm not pleased with the result, but I hope you find it okay! Check the notes below to see if this adventure continues or not...  
> Now, for the last time of Curse in Reverse: ENJOY, MY DARLINGS!

Very early during his hospital stay, Kellin had taped a white sheet of paper to the side of his bedside drawer. On it, he had drawn a line every night before he fell asleep and with Vic’s help he had accounted for the days he had been unconscious or not really aware of the concept of time. Now, there were 32 shaky lines on the paper and Kellin ripped it off the drawer with satisfaction. He looked at it for a moment, counting the lines once more, before crushing it into a ball. Vic watched him with a raised eyebrow.

“I sense some passive aggressiveness,” he stated, trying to bite back a smile.

“Leave it alone,” Kellin replied, a bit too quick.  Vic smiled knowingly, just like he always did when Kellin didn’t manage to prove his theories wrong.

“Well, it just… 32 days is a long time and I really want to leave, but I also don’t want to leave,” Kellin said, then quickly added; “I mean, of course I’m happy, I didn’t mean…”

Vic shushed him, stroking Kellin’s arms in a calming manner. “I know what you didn’t mean. Why do you feel… sad, though?”

“Not sad… Just unsure,” Kellin corrected Vic. “It’s safe in here. There are people around all the time and nothing goes unnoticed…”

Vic looked at him, semi-hurt. “You’ll be safe with me too, Kellin.”

“I know,” Kellin sighed. “It just… yeah. Don’t be mad at me.”

“I’m not mad at you. Not over such a thing,” Vic promised, pressing a quick kiss to Kellin’s forehead, before letting him go. Kellin walked over to the open wardrobe, taking a t-shirt out from a shelf and beginning to fold it to fit it into his duffel bag again. It was warm in the small room, even though Vic had opened the window earlier to try to cool it down. Kellin pulled up the sleeves of his hoodie, revealing still bandaged wrists and forearms. He tried not to look at them or think about them as he stuffed the shirt into his bag, along with his headphones, which lay on the bedside table. He had been going to a lot of therapy over the last few weeks and it had actually helped a lot. Together he and his therapist had managed to figure out ways to keep Kellin’s mind distracted and also strategies for what to do when he felt a panic attack rising. The aftermath of what had happened would wear off, but Kellin was aware it would take time, especially given his background. Kellin often wondered how much Vic paid the therapist to not report anything to the police or some other authority. How much could a person’s silence cost? He even asked the therapist once, but she had just smiled at him and answered “Enough. Even though I’ve told him he doesn’t need to.” Kellin accepted that as the only answer he would ever get from her. When he brought up the subject with Vic, the significant other only asked if it bothered him that his therapist was being paid. Kellin truthfully answered that he didn’t care at all and Vic then decided the conversation was unnecessary. Kellin tried to leave it alone after that.

 

The door opened suddenly and with force, almost hitting the wall and Kellin flinched even though the bang from the impact never was heard. Vic turned toward the doorway, eyes burning with irritation. Kellin made a mental note about reminding Vic not to lash out at everyone who accidentally scared him.

“I hear they’re letting you out!” Mike proclaimed loudly, his laughter dying down as he saw the look in Vic’s eyes. “Oh shit, did I interrupt something?”

“No, just… You spooked me a bit there,” Kellin explained, a faint blush biting his cheeks. “Try knocking next time, okay?”

“Shit. I’m sorry, Kellin,” Mike said, sounding truly apologetic. “I just forget sometimes…”

“It’s fine, Mike, so do I,” Kellin smiled carefully and Vic seemed to calm down at the sight. Mike walked in and gave Vic a one arm-hug.

“So, are we ready to move out?” he wondered, smiling at Kellin again.

“Nope, they still have to discharge me and cut this off,” Kellin announced and held his wrist up to show off the bracelet that marked his incapability of leaving.

“Well, I can make quick work of that,” Mike answered, pulling out a switchblade knife from the pocket of his jacket.

“Oh my god! Mike! Put that thing away right now!” Kellin chastised, nervously glancing at the still wide open door.

“Mike!” Vic called out in despair. “Stop it!”

“Okay, okay, everybody take a breath,” Mike retreated, putting the blade back into his pocket. “No need for the dramatics, I was just trying to be helpful.”

Kellin huffed at Mike’s definition of helpful.

“How about you wait outside?” Vic suggested looking calmer than he actually was.

“Let’s find someone who can discharge you,” Mike said, looking straight at Kellin to promptly ignore his brother’s remark. Vic sighed with irritation and Kellin watched the siblings grumbled with fondness. He had gotten used to it; there was a lot of grumbling going on when you put Mike and Vic in a hospital room together for fairly extensive periods of time.

“Why don’t you _both_ go see what’s taking them so long?” Kellin purposed with a tired smile.

Vic narrowed his eyes at Kellin and exclaimed with an offended tone; “Hey, what did I do?”   
“Just go,” Kellin grinned, giving Vic a gentle push in the direction of the door. Mike grabbed his brother’s shoulder and steered him out, despite moderate protest.

 

The two brothers stumbled out through the door, leaving Kellin in a familiar silence. A silence that, during the last couple of weeks, had settled once the nurses had dragged Vic out, when Vic was needed on gang related meetings. Kellin had grown used to it, but it had taken a while. It felt like the bus ride to San Diego had taken place forever ago. He sat down on the bed to rest a bit and catch his breath. He looked at the crumpled ball of paper in his hand. The end of a chapter, the beginning of something new. There had been a fair amount of panic attacks and breakdowns, and there were more to come. Life went on though and Kellin had never been one to cling onto the past. He always wanted to keep moving.  Kellin decisively threw the paper in the direction of the trash bin and watched with satisfaction as it landed in it. He was aware of the fact that they had yet to hide him from (or bribe their way through) the local police department. Also, they had not yet told Justin about everything that had happened. Kellin groaned a bit at that thought. It would take a lot to make sure Justin didn’t drive all the way to San Diego and punch someone in the face (pretty much everyone was at risk except Kellin). A soft knock on the door brought Kellin’s gaze up again and it was Tony Perry leaning in through the doorway.

“You’re coming home!” Tony smiled happily and Kellin couldn’t help but reflect on the huge differences between him and Mike. They were polar opposites. Mike was loud and everywhere, Tony quiet, observant and tended to blend in. Mike could be quiet and Tony could be loud, but it was not their natural element. Kellin was fairly sure that was one of the things that made their friendship so special – they completed each other.

“Yeah, that’s what they say,” Kellin smiled, breaking eye contact to look at the bag by his side.

“Can I come in?” Tony wondered and not until Kellin nodded, he entered. “Do you need help packing?”

“No, it’s fine, I’ll get it,” Kellin hurried to reply, not wanting Tony to pamper him.

“Okay,” Tony said with hesitation, squinting a bit in Kellin’s direction. Kellin opted for a smile when seeing Tony’s expression.

“You okay?” Tony wondered, sitting down next to Kellin on the bed.

Kellin hesitated for a moment, wondering if he should lie to Tony or not. The gentle look in Tony’s eyes and the worried frown he wore were hard to resist though.

“Yeah,” Kellin sighed eventually. “It’s just strange.”

“What is?” Tony urged him on.

“Everything has been upside down for so long it feels weird to… you know…” Kellin struggled to find the right words. With a frustrated sigh he pulled his hands through his hair and picked up the thread. “It’s strange to believe it’s going to calm down. Just the thought of actually having my own place to live and Vic to watch my back… It’s…”

“It’s overwhelming,” Tony supplied.

“Yes. I like it, but it’s very new to me,” Kellin began, still looking for the right words. “I really wanna get out of here, but it feels a bit strange to… You know. It’s feels strange to have a place to go to and that’s supposed to be my ‘home’ now. I mean it isn’t ‘home’ yet, but I think it will grow on me. I have not even seen it but…” Kellin stopped talking, realizing he was only rambling.

“Do you _want_ to move in at headquarters?” Tony asked slowly and Kellin looked at him with confusion. “I mean, Vic would let you move in with him in his house, if you wanted to. And if you don’t want to live anywhere directly gang or Vic related, you and I can move back to my apartment. It’s been gathering dust for a while, while I’ve crashed at HQ, but you know, it’s just dust. It’ll go away. I bet you and I would make the perfect cleaning-team.”

Kellin smiled, trying to hold back the tears which burned in the corners of his eyes. “Thanks, Tony, but HQ will be just fine.”

“If you say so,” Tony shrugged, squeezing Kellin’s shoulder lightly. “You can change your mind at any time. I’ll be staying at HQ too.”

Kellin just nodded and stood up to continue his packing. The weight on his shoulders felt a bit lighter and he found himself looking forward to the still unknown future. The bullet wound sent a stab of pain through his upper body as he reached for a t-shirt on the top shelf in the wardrobe. Sometimes the pain from the wound was a constant, dull ache reaching from the wound itself out in his arm and up along his neck; at other times it was a suddenly stab, going straight through him, so sharp he lost his breath.

“Kellin!” Tony rushed forward, supporting him as he bent forward, cringing slightly from the pain.

“It’s fine,” he croaked out, trying to swat Tony away. Tony was not persuaded and led Kellin to the bed, promptly sitting him down.

“I’ll pack the last of your stuff,” he announced and Kellin didn’t object. He leaned his elbows on his knees and watched Tony.

“Tony… Can I ask you something personal?”

“Sure,” Tony said, not taking his eyes off the pair of pants he was folding up neatly.

“Have you ever been shot?” Kellin asked, biting his lower lip, hoping he hadn’t overstepped a line.

Tony froze for a moment, before getting on with the folding. He smiled in a way that made Kellin curious.

“Yes, I have,” Tony replied with ease.

“Really?” Kellin exclaimed, before he could stop himself.

“Yeah, not too uncommon in our line of work,” Tony laughed at Kellin’s evident surprise.

“Right,” Kellin said, blushing. “Sometimes I forget.”

“It’s okay,” Tony told him supportively. “Sometimes I forget not everyone live like we do. This is all I’ve ever known. I got shot, let’s see… 5 years ago? Yeah, something like that.”

Kellin stared at him. “What? You must have been like… 15 years old then?”

“Yup,” Tony answered, sounding as if it wasn’t a big deal. “Got caught in the crossfire between Pierce the Veil and another gang, Of Mice and Men. I almost bled out, but Mike managed to get to me in time. He saved my life the first time we met, that’s something, ey?”

“It really is,” Kellin agreed, with ease picturing the scene in his head. It managed to lure a smile out of him. “Where were you shot?”

“Left thigh,” Tony revealed, sounding mischievous. “Hurt like hell and a half.”

“I can imagine,” Kellin nodded and got up to put the folded clothes into the bag. Tony sat down on the bed letting Kellin take over the work, since the wardrobe was cleaned out. “Tell me about it.”

“About what? Getting shot?” Tony wondered, squinting at Kellin.

“Yes and about how it was to meet them,” Kellin replied. When Tony remained quiet, Kellin sat down next to him on the bed. He nudged him with his elbow in an attempt to make him talk. It worked.

“Jaime, Mike and Vic grew up together,” Tony began slowly. “So I’ve always been the outsider. Not so much anymore, though, but back then. I got initiated after Mike saved my life in that shooting, so you can say I owe him. He was the one who convinced the old leader to take me in, apparently he put up a real fight for me. I have asked him why he convinced the gang to initiate me, but he always avoids the question. Don’t have a clue to this day.”

“Aren’t you curious?” Kellin wondered, feeling his own curiosity being sparked.

“I don’t think about it anymore,” Tony explained, slowly shaking his head. “I’m just really happy he did. Of Mice and Men are some of our best friends now because of that incident. Austin, their leader, cracks at least one joke about having shot me every time we meet. He’s awesome.”

Kellin chuckled, very intrigued. For a group of very violent individuals, they were also surprisingly dorky sometimes and Kellin was sure it would never cease to amaze him. He guessed the options for anyone being involved in gangs were to either be secretly dorky or ending up like Noah; greedy and selfish.

“What did you do before Mike took you under his wings and what did you do after that?”

“I ran away from home when I was fourteen and lived on the streets until Austin shot me and Mike saved me. I wouldn’t be surprised if my parents didn’t even notice I was gone,” Tony sighed. Kellin raised a questioning eyebrow, so he continued; “They were both hooked on heroin. Not much I could do to get their attention or affection, so I left. After I got initiated I moved in to HQ, just like you are about to.” Kellin froze.

“Will I be initiated?” There was a slight quiver to his voice and he hoped Tony hadn’t heard it. A thousand thoughts ran through Kellin’s mind before Tony answered.

“No, I really don’t think so,” he said, smiling carefully. “You are in this for Vic, not the business.”

Kellin exhaled a breath he didn’t know he had been holding.

“We have a lot of fun together, the gang. I mean, you have gotten to know Mike and Vic very good by now and they’re pretty special guys,” Tony said. “I’m sorry you’ve only gotten to see the bad things of our lives so far. It can only get better from here, right?”

“Exactly my trail of thought,” Kellin agreed. “Vic and Mike are not ‘special’ though, they’re insane.”

“True,” Tony beamed at him, tilting his head a little. “But we love them anyway.”

“Indeed we do,” Kellin concluded. About this time loud voices bled in through the narrowly opened door and Tony and Kellin exchanged a knowing glance right before the Fuentes brothers swung the door open and stomped in.

“She would have helped us if you hadn’t shamelessly hit on her!” Vic exclaimed in frustration.

“This has nothing to do with that!” Mike objected, gesturing wildly. “And I was discreet! I don’t even want her I just wanted to see if she would go along with it.”

“Discreet,” Vic echoed in mockery. “You are mental and an asshole and now we’re stuck here.”

Kellin cleared his throat loudly, interrupting before Mike had an opportunity to bite back. The brothers turned to look at him at exactly the same time, sending Tony into a fit of laughter.

“What did they say?” Kellin asked, trying not to start laughing, slapping Tony’s arm to make him shut up.

“The doctor who was going to discharge you got called in for an important surgery,” Vic told them, looking with bewilderment as Tony kept snickering. “They’ll send someone soon. Why… Why are you laughing? What are you doing?”

“Just talking about the good old times,” Tony grinned happily.

“Oh god no!” Vic exclaimed in terror.

“Calm down, nothing embarrassing,” Kellin quickly butted in. Vic smiled and wrapped an arm around Kellin’s waist, pulling him close enough to kiss his cheek.

“Hey, aren’t you guys hungry? I’m hungry,” Mike piped up, still standing in the doorway. “Tony, let’s go get some food…”

Kellin gave up and joined Tony’s laughter.

 

-

 

Three hours later a very pissed off nurse gave into Vic’s relentless nagging and discharged Kellin (to everyone’s relief) and they could finally, finally head out to HQ. Kellin had the duffel bag with his few belongings slung over his shoulder as Vic guided him into the big building Kellin could soon call his home. It felt strange, but good. This time there was no suspicion in the eyes of the members they met, just curiosity and in some cases pity. Kellin kept his sleeves down so no one could see the gauze, and his hoodie of course covered the bullet wound, but people had been told about what had happened to him. Kellin looked forward to getting to know how the gang worked and who Vic’s friends were. After spending so much time with Vic in the hospital, he felt he already knew Vic well enough. They had made time fly while trying to find out as much as possible about each other, from the smallest things like favourite food (though if you asked Mike that was the most important question and one which decided if he would take liking of you or not) to letting each other get a glimpse of the other’s past. A lot of cuddling had made Kellin practically addicted to Vic’s warmth and closeness and Vic seemed very content with this, always unwilling to leave Kellin’s side. Now, Vic held an arm around Kellin’s shoulders and Kellin leaned into him as they walked to Vic’s room. It had been cleared out to leave place for Kellin’s things and also because of some broken furniture Mike had muttered about. Kellin hadn’t asked for details. Vic swung the door open and let Kellin walk in first to take in the room. It was big, a bed in the far left corner, a couch and a TV in the far left corner and a desk without a chair along the same wall as the door. The walls were a very light yellow colour, maybe not Kellin’s first hand choice, but he didn’t really care. There were a lot of possibilities in case he wanted to redecorate.

“What do you think?” Vic asked and Kellin could easily hear how nervous Vic was. It was interesting seeing as Vic had seemed absolutely fearless when Noah held him at gunpoint, but oh god, showing Kellin his room, the horror. Kellin smiled and turned to Vic, grabbing the collar of his hoodie and pulled him into a kiss.

“I love it,” he breathed, before connecting their lips again. “I mean I might have to buy some posters or something to put on the walls…”

“Whatever you want,” Vic replied, smiling against Kellin’s lips, then letting his tongue find its way into Kellin’s mouth. Kellin still held on to Vic’s hoodie, pulling him backwards toward the bed. Vic followed Kellin’s steps and let himself be pulled down above Kellin on the bed without protest. Kellin made an appreciative noise.

“This is a comfy bed,” he remarked, basking in Vic’s smiled and happy, loving gaze.

“Let me show you exactly how nice it can be,” Vic offered, not giving Kellin a chance to answer before kissing him again, slowly letting his hands wander beneath Kellin’s hoodie and t-shirt. A moan tore from Kellin’s lips and Kellin guessed it could be an answer in itself. He didn’t really have the ability to focus right there and then. Vic interrupted the kiss and Kellin whined in disagreement. He liked having Vic this close, but closer, touching, exploring, their bodies pressed together – that was better. Vic gently caressed Kellin’s cheek with his thumb, smiling down at him.

“Kellin…” Vic said, his voice a bit rough.

“Yeah?” Kellin answered, suddenly feeling a bit unsure of himself.

“Welcome home,” Vic grinned.

Kellin smiled and thought to himself; These were the moments worth living for, _this_ was happiness.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WOHO! That's it for Curse in Reverse; Now we change focus to the next part of the series, yaaay! You have all been so lovely and I just couldn't refuse you a sequel. It will take time to plan out and then write, so you'll have to be patient with me. Expect me to take at least two weeks before I upload the first chapter. (*whispering* i might have a one chapter story on the way tho, shhh). To see news about my progress with the sequel, you can check out my profile. I post there to those who follow my stories so you'll get glimpses of how it's going for me. I know it sucks to wait.
> 
> I HAVE ONE IMPORTANT QUESTION FOR THE SEQUEL: DO YOU WANT TONY/MIKE OR NOT??? It will be background ofc but do you want it at all?
> 
> I want to say: THANK YOU. You have all been amazing and I love you so much for all your support and love. You have made me believe more in myself and my writing and for that I will be forever grateful. Thank you! See you soon. :) <3 
> 
> //Malin

**Author's Note:**

> Woah! First chapter is up, I'm so nervous I might faint. There's gonna be a lot of action in this fic, you have been warned (and no i don't mean sex, I mean gang related things.. I MEAN.. I give up. Just yeah. You know what I mean.)  
> Leave kudos and comments if you enjoy it or if you didn't, let me know what you think. See ya around!


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